


Blinded by the Light

by RikuKingdomHearts3



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Blind Character, Blind Riku, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, slight AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:34:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23114038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RikuKingdomHearts3/pseuds/RikuKingdomHearts3
Summary: The bright light from Ansem the Wise's explosion did more than just return him to normal. The light may have helped him in that way... but it took something from him as the result. After using the darkness for so long, his sight was the one thing that was lost.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

Ansem the Wise's machine had sparked and then exploded in a brilliant light . It grew larger as it approached the group. Sora had tried to run forward but Riku stopped him and held him back, only glancing slightly back to see the bright light flooding towards the entire group. The light became too bright for all of them to keep on trying to look and they blacked out seconds after.

Sora groaned slightly as he opened his eyes. He saw that everyone was laying on the floor as well, but no one looked hurt. He then shifted his eyes to the side and gasped. There was Riku laying just a few feet away from him, and he looked just like himself again. Sora got up and ran over to his Riku.

"Riku?" he asked, hoping that Riku was all right. Now that he was closer, he could see that not only did Riku have the Organization cloak still on, but he now had a blindfold tied around his head, covering his eyes.

Riku groaned slightly as he tried to push himself up. He staggered slightly, but soon was standing up in the next second. Sora couldn't help but smile seeing his friend back to his old self.

"Riku!" Sora replied with a mix of excitement and surprise.

Donald and Goofy stood up and looked over to see Riku. Neither of them expected to see him back to normal either. "Wow." They both gawked and commented at the same time.

Kairi was the next to react as she smiled happily. "Riku!"

"Ansem did say 'anything could happen'..." Mickey added, sounding just as surprised as everyone else.

Riku turned his head to the side, not knowing exactly what to think. He knew he was thankful that the light returned him back to normal, but it just was a big surprise for him. He didn't end up saying anything back, so Sora decided to go ask something else.

"Riku, you going to take that off?"

Riku paused for a moment, trying to figure out what Sora was talking about, but then it understood. The blindfold. Now that he was back to normal, it was back to covering his eyes. He had nearly forgotten about it, since he had spent so long wearing it back when he was placing himself further in the darkness. He had gotten so used to hiding his eyes from everything and using the darkness to sense out everything that he sometimes forgot it was even on his face.

"Oh…" Riku finally murmured before unting the blindfold and pulling it off.

Though as soon as he pulled away the fabric, his entire body froze up.

Something wasn't right.

He knew he had pulled off the blindfold… so why could he still not see anything?

Riku slowly blinked a few times, hoping that his eyes were just playing tricks on him. But no matter how long he waited, nothing showed in his vision. Only blackness.

Riku started to feel sick as hundred of thoughts filled his mind. Though many of the thoughts were all shouting the same thing in his head.

He was blind.

Somehow… someway he was blinded and could no longer see. Riku tried to think of the most logical reasoning for it, thinking back over everything that happened to him. The only idea he could think of was that flash of light. He had been using Ansem Seeker of Darkness's power before that had happened. He had been like that for a while, using that darkness to help and fight. And then that bright flash of light came at him.

A fuzzy memory came to him just as the light came towards him. The light from Ansem the Wise's machine. It was so bright. When it consumed all of them, It stung his eyes.

The light had hurt him because he was using the darkness and powers of Ansem Seeker of Darkness. He though he had paid the price of using those powers when he had to basically 'become' Ansem. But now… in order to return back to normal there was a different price. One that was a bit steeper. And Riku never even had a choice or say in it happening.

"Riku! Hellooo? Riku are you there?" a voice shouted, snapping Riku away from his thoughts.

It was Sora's voice. He could tell that Sora was standing right next to him. He could tell where Sora was standing based on where his voice was coming from, but also there was one other factor. While it seemed that he was no longer able to use Ansem's dark powers, he still had a bit of his own. He could still sense things out using that darkness, just like he had with the blindfold on.

But he was still blind.

Feeling even more sick than before, Riku dropped down to his knees, started to breath heavily. He felt an arm clasp on his. He knew it had to be Sora of course.

"Riku! Are you okay?" he asked Riku.

Riku tried to calm himself down, but he was still struggling with the fact he couldn't see anymore. He tried to slow down his breaths, but the overwhelming feeling in his chest wasn't leaving.

"I… I…c-can't…" Riku tried to say between his breaths, but it felt like there was a pit in his throat.

"Can't what? What's wrong?" Sora asked, feeling more concerned.

Hesitantly Riku turned his head towards where Sora was kneeling. He could only hope that he looked like he was attempting to look at Sora. "I can't see…"

Sora was about to reply back when he took a good look at Riku's eyes. Upon first glance they looked exactly the same. But now that he was looking directly at them… he noticed there was a difference. For one, Riku wasn't even properly looking at him. His eyes seemed to be looking more off to the side and they looked unfocused. Secondly it was the color… it was still his teal color… but it looked duller, and slightly more greyed.

Sora bit his lip as he tried to think what he could say. "A-Are you sure? Maybe it's just-"

"No! I really can't see anything," Riku wanted to go on. But he knew now was not the time for any of that. Despite how afraid he felt without being able to see, there were far more important things to take care of. "Doesn't matter we need to move on and-"

"But Riku!" Sora interjected. "Are you hurt or something? What happened?"

Riku then heard footsteps come closer to him. It was a lighter presence; Kairi. "Yeah Riku, we want to make sure you're all right."

"But…" Riku started to say, but his words got caught in his throat.

He felt the arms of both Sora and Kairi wrapped around him. He started to struggle to hold back his emotions. He wanted to stay strong, but the overwhelming knowledge of never being able to see his friends again weighed down heavily on him.

"We're here for you Riku," Sora whispered calmly.

"Just take the time you need," Kairi added.

"We can't… just stand around though…" Riku managed to say as he took in deep breaths. "We have to keep moving."

At that moment Donald spoke up, "There's Heartless climbing up the castle!"

"There's hundreds of them!" Goofy added.

"What are we going to do though?" Sora said.

"We need to go after Xemnas. He's the Organization's last survivor," Riku stated as he slowly tried to stand up.

"Wait Riku, are you sure you'll be okay?" Sora asked as he still held onto Riku's arm.

Riku tried to look at Sora, but again he had no idea whether or not he was close. "I'll be fine… I'll… I'll manage."

"Are you sure though Riku?" Kairi asked. "How are you going to be… um… you know…"

"I can't see anything… but I can still sense everything around me," Riku stated. "It's not as strong as it was before, but I'm still able to do it."

"Well… if you are sure," Sora said hesitantly as he let go of Riku's arm, and Kairi let go in the next second.

Riku stood up and took a few steps forward, to try and prove his point. He could still sense everything around him so he knew where the floor was behind him. It was still just like when he wore the blindfold. He could sense, but not see.

With a heavy sigh he took off the Organization cloak, seeing as he didn't need it anymore, and turned around to face everything. Or at least as best as he could. Everyone looked at him, in his new outfit, with worried and concerned looks. Riku seemed to be able to walk around on his own, but they still worried how he was feeling on the inside. But they knew now was not the time for that.

"Let's go," Riku said with a nod, trying his hardest to push his mind out of this one little minor setback.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While working on my other stories I finished up a chapter for this and realized that it was not crossposted yet. So with that, here is my angsty idea based how how Riku looked dazed and blinks original when he takes off the blindfold.  
> Hope you guys enjoy this little idea of mine.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone started to make their way up the castle, with Sora staying right by Riku's side. He knew Riku said he would be able to handle it, but that didn't ease him much. Everytime he destroyed a Nobody he would quickly look over at Riku, who was usually dogging out of the way of an attack before striking the Nobody with his keyblade.

As they made their way closer to the top of the castle, Sora walked over to Riku. "How are you doing… I mean you know… how are you holding up."

Riku hesitated before he answered. "I'm… I've told you I'm fine. I know you're worried Sora, but… I…"

"You don't have to put so much stress on yourself. You've already done so much on your own, you don't have to keep hiding things. We're here for each other."

Riku couldn't help but smile at that. Sora's optimism and positivity was coming through again. It was one thing Riku did miss hearing from before. He gave a quick reminder to himself to remember Sora wouldn't give up on it. Sora would do whatever he could to help Riku. They were best friends after all.

"Thanks Sora. But really, I'm fine right now."

"All right, if you say so. But if anything goes wrong, just tell me okay?"

Riku nodded. "I will."

The group soon approached the top of the castle, towards The Altar of Naught. Riku could sense Xemnas was standing up there, and as everyone got closer, they could hear him speaking. They started a brief conversation against Xemnas, about the light, the darkness, and how Nobodies don't exist.

But then after Xemnas agreed to the fact that he cannot feel nothing, both him and Sora's presenances disappeared. Riku couldn't sense if they were anywhere nearby. Riku quickly started to turn around out of instinct, thinking he would see Sora, but he only met the continuous darkness.

"Where did they go?" he asked as he kept trying to see if he could sense one of them.

"I don't know," Mickey answered. "The both of them just kinda vanished."

"Sora!" Kairi shouted. "Where are you?"

"Sora, answer me!" Riku shouted as loud as he could. He knew that Sora was apparently nowhere in the nearby area, but he wanted to try.

A few seconds later Riku was able to sense Sora's presence again. A thud was heard behind him and he quickly turned around to the direction of the sound. He heard Sora groan slightly as he pushed himself back up to his feet. He was about to ask if Sora was okay, when he sensed another presence coming back into the area.

"Where's Xemnas?" Sora asked.

"There," Riku stated as he pointed in the direction where he sensed the presence of Xemnas. He didn't know exactly what Xemnas was doing in the air, but he didn't have to ask anyone as Xemnas started to talk again.

"Hear me, Kingdom Hearts! It seems we must begin anew. Ah, but know this: I will give to you as many hearts as it takes. Mark my words! You can no more be complete without me than I without you. Heed me, Kingdom Hearts! Lend me your power, so that we may be complete! The power to erase the fools that hinder us."

"Xemnas! No!" Mickey shouted.

"Hearts quivering with hatred…" Xemnas continued.

"Xemnas! Don't!" Sora then shouted.

Xemnas continued to ignore the group as he prattled on. "Hearts burning with rage…"

"You'll never win!" Donald squawked.

"Hearts scarred by envy... That fool Ansem said the heart's true nature was beyond his understanding. But it's not beyond mine! Hearts are the source of all power!" Xemnas said before once again Riku could no longer sense his presence.

"Xemnas! You can't hide from us!" Sora grumbled angrily.

"We're not gonna let him get away now," Mickey added.

"But… where did he go? I can't sense him anywhere again," Riku commented.

Kairi looked off to the side as a door started to appear. She was about to tell everyone to look, but then remembered that Riku wouldn't be able to 'look'. She bit her lip slightly as she tried to find better words. But no matter what, everyone would have to look to where she was going to tell them.

"Over there," she said as she pointed.

Everyone, but Riku, looked over at where she was pointing. The large door had now fully formed and just floated out in the sky. Riku hummed to himself as he waited for a moment, but everyone seemed to be staring at whatever it was that Kairi had pointed to.

"What… What is it?" He asked, feeling the slight bit embarrassed that he had to ask.

"It's a really large door. Kind of like back when we closed the doors to Kingdom Hearts the first time," Sora answers, hoping he was giving the best explanation.

"Hmm… Let's go then. I can't really sense him, but I assume Xemnas must be inside," Riku replied.

"The worlds gave us this doorway. They want us to be the guardians of their destiny," Mickey commented.

"Yeah, let's get ready to go."

Riku took in a deep breath, still not knowing how he was going to handle any of this. He had no idea what was truly on the other side of that door or if he would be able to sense anything. " _What… What if I can't? What if I completely lose my ability to sense when in there?"_ He tried to push away these thoughts though. He couldn't give up that easily. He had to keep going. This was not the time to start thinking pessimistically.

Riku walked forward a bit, to where Sora was standing. "Once we go through… there's no turning back. It's victory… or oblivion. Sora… you mention the door we closed together. Back then we faced each other on opposite sides of the door. Now we stand side-by-side. This time… let's go home together." He tried to hope as best as he could that he and Sora would make it through all of this. He wanted to go home… He wanted to be with his friends again, even if things now would be different for him.


	3. Chapter 3

They all stood at the edge of the castle. The door loomed out in the void in front of them while they all stared. Finally Sora took a deep breath and spoke. “Let’s end this.”

“Then let’s get that door open,” Mickey added. 

Sora, Riku and Mickey all summoned their keyblades and pointed them near each other. Riku hoped at least that he was doing that, seeing as his sensing ability was still a slight bit weakened. After they all raised their keyblades in the area, a moment passed before the large door unlocked and slowly started to open. 

“Get ready, Xemnas! It all ends here!” Sora exclaimed aloud.

The group then started heading to the transparent pathway that led up to the door. Riku though stopped at the edge of the castle and froze up. Though he knew there had to be some kind of path leading to the door, in his mind the logic was telling him that he was about to walk right off the top of the building. Even though he could tell that the others were already walking on the path, his mind still conflicted against him that there was actually something there. 

“Riku?” Sora asked as he turned around to see Riku still standing on the castle. 

Riku breathed in deeply as he tried to take a step forward, but he still couldn’t do it. He kept trying to tell his mind that it would be all right, but he still couldn’t get himself to move an inch. There was still the innate fear that he was going to fall. And it was more fueled by the fact he couldn’t actually truly see anymore. Before he had gotten used to it when just wearing the blindfold, but now it was something completely different. Now he was completely in the dark. 

Riku almost wanted to feel disappointed in himself. This felt like it was a simple task, yet he was too afraid to move. He had jumped off a building before when wearing his blindfold and landed perfectly fine. He had done so much before when he was just blindfolded… so why couldn’t he do any of it now? It was still basically the same thing except for the part where he wasn’t able to just take off a piece of fabric to see his surroundings. Riku furrowed his brows as he lowered his head slightly. 

_ “Why?... Why can’t I do this? I don’t understand…” _ Riku thought to himself. 

“Riku?” Sora's voice came in, breaking his concentration. “What’s wrong?” Riku could hear Sora's voice was drawing closer.

Riku breathing in slowly, but did not raise his head back up. There wasn’t much point to doing that anyways. He wanted to tell Sora the reason… but he felt afraid to say it… or maybe it was embarrassment. Embarrassment that he couldn’t do something that was so easy and simple to the rest. 

Riku flinched slightly as he felt Sora’s hand on his arm. He hadn’t even been paying attention to notice that Sora was standing right next to him. “Riku, is something wrong?”

“I just…” Riku started slowly. He remembered that Sora would listen to him. Sora wouldn’t judge him or look down on him. He was there for him and would understand. “I can’t sense the pathway you guys are walking on. It’s making it hard for me to try and walk on it. My mind is thinking I’ll just walk right off the building.”

“Well that isn’t going to happen. Just stay next to me and we’ll head to the door together,” Sora said as he wrapped his arm around Riku’s. “I’m right here for you, so we can move together.”

Riku nodded slowly. “Thanks Sora,”

“Okay then, just take a step with me. There is a path there, you’ll see… ah I mean… feel I guess?” Sora said quickly, not knowing how sensitive Riku felt towards certain wording. 

“Yeah,” Riku replied quietly. 

As soon as Sora moved slightly and told Riku he was moving, Riku picked up his foot and placed it down in front of him, right where his mind told him there was nothing. But underneath his foot, he could feel some type of surface. He breathed a sigh of relief, though his heart was still racing with the fact he could fall off any moment. 

The two of them walked slowly as they made it up to the door. Once they reached it, the sound of the large door was heard opening up. When they doors stopped Sora gasped as he stared inside. Riku tried to think what he was seeing, but it was a bit of a jumble to him. He could tell there were a lot of objects or maybe buildings in the area beyond the door, but there was too much to really get a good clear idea. Then there was the far away presence of Xemnas. He was definitely within this pocket of a world and awaiting them there. 

They all walked together past the doors into this strange other world. Thankfully Riku could still sense the area around him as well as everyone else. He still was able to manage on his own. But the fears of what could happen still stayed within him. This battle was going to be tough. Harder than just attacking a few Heartless or Nobodies. He almost didn’t want to admit it… but he was afraid he wasn’t going to be able to do it. 

“So...it seems your hearts have led you to obliteration. Perhaps it doesn't pay to be too loyal to one's heart. I will have to be sure and remember that,” Xemnas said, his voice echoing all around them. 

The ground started to shake as things began to move all around them. Riku tried to concentrate, but everything was happening too quickly. His powers to sense things were still not as strong as before, and that meant it did sometimes take him a bit more time to get a grip of what was happening. But before he could truly process what Xemnas was doing, he felt Sora grab his arm and pulled him back. 

“What?” Riku asked quickly. 

“There’s a large building being thrown at us!” Sora commented quickly before pulling him down to the ground. 

The building collided into the ground, shaking the area around them violently. Riku felt the world shaking around him as for a brief moment everything blurred from his senses. Though the next thing he knew, was that he could hear the large doors slowly closing.

Riku took in a deep breath as he concentrated as hard as he could. He gasped as he noticed that Kairi and Mickey were now on the other side of large closing doors. Donald. Goofy, and Sora were still all on the other side with him, just scattered to the ground for the moment. 

“Kairi! Mickey!” Sora called out as he stood up to run to the doors, but just before he got to them the doors slammed shut. “Ah no!”

Riku pushed himself up to his feet. “Sora, there’s no time to worry. We have to get to Xemnas.”

Sora sighed before he nodded. He turned to face the area in front of them as he readidy his keyblade. “Right! We can take him on! Let’s go!” 

Riku summoned his keyblade as he kept close to Sora and the other two. They started to trek through the world when the ground behind them shook and large chunks of buildings shot up from behind. Riku barely had enough time to even realize what was happening and he was knocked back a bit. He regained himself quickly though and ran back to catch up with Sora, who was hopping along top the buildings. 

_ “Of course… this will be harder. But… I can’t give up. I have to at least try,” _ Riku thought to himself in hopes he could reassure himself. But there were still so many wavering thoughts. Still so many fears and doubts he had building in him. He shook his head though as he pressed them down. They were not what he needed to focus on right now. What did matter right now was getting to Xemnas and defeating him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Building up as I can to get to all the good point. Don't worry I got good plans for this :)


	4. Chapter 4

It had taken them a bit to get up to where Xemnas was. It was hardest of course for Riku though he still pushed himself to try and keep up with the rest of them. Sora could tell though that Riku was wearing himself out. They had made their way through buildings and up to a large machine controlled by Xemnas. It was a struggle for Riku at first to make it up to the ship, as it was in the sky and he could not judge exactly where to go. Sora had made sure to step back and stay by Riku to help him get up there.

Riku still fought at full force though against Xemnas. He still easily dodged out of the way of most of the attacks, though there were still a few surprise ones that knocked him back. Sora tried to make his way over to Riku each time to make sure he was okay, but Riku just told him that he was fine and that they really needed to focus on the battle. It didn't stop Sora though from worrying about Riku.

After delivering the final blows to Xemnas, a bright light surrounded all of them and Sora found that they were back at the top of the Castle that Never Was. Xemnas stood before them before he fell to his knees, clutching his chest.

"I need… more rage... I need more… hearts…" Xemnas said in between deep breaths.

"Xemnas. There's more to a heart than just anger or hate. It's full of all kinds of feelings. Don't you remember?" Sora asked as he took a step forward.

Xemnas paused for a moment as he stared right at Sora. "Unfortunately… I don't."

Xemnas then faded away into nothingness before the group. Sora breathed a sigh of relief as he let out a happy laugh. He couldn't believe it, but it was finally over. He turned around to face Donald, Goofy, Mickey and Kairi as he smiled happily. All of them cheered back as they all were thinking the same thoughts about the battle finally being over.

"Gosh, you all did great!" Mickey complemented.

Sora nodded until he noticed that Riku was not standing in the group with them. He turned around to see Riku standing off at the far edge of the building. Slowly, Sora made his way over there. He could see that Riku's head was lowered and his eyes were closed.

"You're… You're coming back with us, right?" Sora asked, uncertainty filling his voice.

"I'm not sure anymore…" Riku muttered.

"What? What do you mean?" Sora asked, caught off guard by Riku's change in mood about the situation.

"I… I had given in to the darkness…"

"Riku!" Sora exclaimed, upset at the fact that Riku still seemed to be clinging on to those thoughts.

"Sora… I gave into the darkness. I did many things I regret… and now look at the price I've paid," Riku said as he slumped his shoulders. He never had felt so disappointed in himself back there. Despite trying as much as he could to do everything on his own, Sora still had to lean in several times and help him. All of it because he couldn't see. All because he had used the darkness and given in to it.

"But Riku… that's in the past now. You are back and that's what matters," Sora said as he tried to reach out to Riku. He tried to gently place a hand on his shoulder, but Riku pulled away and shook his head.

"No. I just… I can't. Not after what I have done. I wouldn't be able to face anyone… I can't even do that. I won't ever know if they are looking at me with hate or not," Riku replied, his voice shaking slightly. He kept trying to hold back his feelings, but they were starting to pile up. The air around his started to feel heavier as his head slightly ached with pain.

Sora stared with hurt-filled eyes at Riku. Never before had he even seen his childhood friend so disstreed. "That… That shouldn't matter." Sora couldn't give up though. He wasn't going to let Riku just stay behind with those thoughts. "I spent a lot of this journey looking for you. I wondered where you were and if you okay."

"Well I'm not okay!" Riku retorted quickly. "You saw what happened to me. You actually can _see_ it! I can't… I guess no matter what I can't get away from the darkness… Really… I'm not worth it anymore."

"Stop it Riku!" Sora shouted as he grabbed onto Riku's arms. He turned Riku towards him without thinking. It didn't matter what he did there, Riku couldn't see it anyways. But Sora did it anyway. He stared right at Riku… right into his dulled, unfocused eyes. They still were not looking at him and were looking off just by a few inches. Sora now felt his own emotions overflowing him. He still wanted to have his friend come home with him, but he was frustrated with how Riku was acting. His heart felt like it was being squeezed as he leaned forward to rest his head against Riku's chest.

"R-Riku…" he whimpered out softly. "I don't want to l-leave you behind. Don't m-make me do that again."

Riku could hear the pain and sadness in Sora's voice. It was as clear as day. His soft and quiet whimpers did not go unnoticed by Riku. He sighed as he placed a hand gently on Sora's head. He tried to take in a deep breath, but it still was shaky and weak. Despite not being able to see, he still could at least feel a tear streaking down his cheek.

"I'm sorry Sora… I didn't mean to upset you. It's just hard for me right now," Riku replied quietly.

"You don't have to continue doing everything on your own though. We're all here for you and you can't forget that," Sora said as he wrapped his arms around Riku and held him tightly. His warm presence surrounded Riku, and it seemed to ease his tension a little.

"Sora's right. You can't just forget about us. We won't give up on you at all," Kairi added, now after seeing the conversation between the two boys.

Riku sensed her light and warm presence grow closer and then she too wrapped her arms around him. Now with both Sora and Kairi holding on to him, he sighed again, though it was a more relieved one. A few more tears fell down his face as a small smile appeared across his face.

"Th-Thank you guys," Riku whispered to them. "Thank you both for still caring about me."

Before any of them could say a word more, the building began to shake and tremble. They all gasped as they tried to stand their ground.

"We have to hurry!" Mickey exclaimed, seeing as the building would soon come collapsing down.

"How are we supposed to get off here though?" Sora asked.

Riku was about to suggest that he could open a corridor of darkness, but he stopped himself as he thought about it. " _Can I even do that anymore? My darkness is weaker than before… I don't know…"_

Before Riku could even try, he heard the familiar sound of one being formed a few feet in front of them.

"How did this get here? Who did this?" Donald asked.

Riku felt confused about it as well, mainly because he could not see what had happened in front of him. But there was something else he noticed. He sensed a very faint presence near to the portal. It was a lighter one… but very familiar… and similar to Kairi's.

Mickey, Donald, Goofy and even Pluto all quickly entered the portal, as they saw it was the only option that they had. From what Riku could tell, even though Namine was standing right in front of the portal, they couldn't see her. Riku began to wonder if Sora and Kairi could even see her. But he didn't have to wait too long for an answer as he heard Kairi's voice.

"Thank you, Naminé."

"Sure. See? We meet again, like we promised," she replied.

Riku listened on as Sora gave a questioning 'huh' after her statement. Riku figured that Naminé must have been looking towards Sora when she said that last bit. He then picked up another presence, just as faint as Naminé's, but this time more similar to Sora's, yet still different. It didn't take Riku too long to figure out it was Roxas that he was sensing.

"You said we'd meet again, but when we did, we might not recognize each other," Roxas said.

Riku tried to tune out most of the conversation that had started. It wasn't his to be a part of anyways. He stood to the side though as he listened. Roxas and Naminé talked happily to each other as they were going to be together since Sora and Kairi would be together. After a minute or so he sensed that Naminé's presence was fading away. And then it was gone entirely, but he knew it wasn't exactly gone. She had returned to Kairi.

After one last comment to Sora, Roxas's presence faded away back to Sora. Though Sora sounded confused as he stood there trying to process what had just happened. Riku took a step forward as he stood next to Sora.

"Don't worry," he said reassuringly. "You're all still you."

"Oh. Okay," Sora replied quickly.

"Hey, come on guys, let's go home," Kairi said as she stepped closer to the portal.

"Riku…" Sora said as he looked towards him. Riku couldn't see it of course, but Sora had a hopeful look. He paused for a second though before he continued, hoping everything would be all right now. "C'mon."

Riku took in a deep breath before he nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."

The power of the portal started to flicker and fade. Riku didn't understand why it was suddenly fading away, but he tried to run to it, nearly stumbling over his own feet. The portal faded away even more just as Riku got up to it. He could tell that Sora was right by his side as the portal completely disappeared. The last thing he heard was Kairi calling out for both him and Sora. But now the portal was gone along with Kairi.

"What? What happened?"

"I don't know… Something doesn't feel right," Riku replied as he tried to focus on his senses as much as he could. There was something far away from them… some kind of presnese, but it was too far away for Riku to figure out.

"There's something out there," Sora muttered.

"What? What is it?" Riku asked, knowing that he couldn't see whatever it was Sora was looking at.

"It's right over… oh… I-I mean. It's some large flying machine I think? It kind of looks like a dragon. It's coming right this way," Sora replied as he continued to stare at what he was seeing.

Before Riku could reply, whatever it was that Sora had seen crashed into the building as everything shook violently. The machine let out a loud roar as it flew by and moved around the area. Riku tried to sense it, but for some reason it was barely able to be sensed. He could tell there was someone within the machine. It was some faint presence, but other than that he could barely tell where the machine was.

The building behind them started to tilt and crumble. Without much time to react, Riku slipped backwards as the building was slowly tilting to the side. He grunted as he hit the floor and started to slide.

"Riku!" Sora shouted as he reached out to him, but they both kept sliding down. Sora glanced to the side though and on a ledge of the castle he saw a small thing that looked like it could be some type of flying device. "Hold on Riku. I got an idea."

Sora pushed himself up to his feet and ran down to the small machine. He jumped onto it and stared for a moment before pushing random things on it. After a few seconds it started to hover above the ground and Sora put his hands on the steering wheel.

" _Maybe it's like flying the Gummi ship,"_ Sora thought briefly to himself before looking over to Riku. He was still on the building, slowly sliding towards the edge, unable to grab onto anything. Thankfully there was a small platform attached to the flying machine, with just enough room for someone to stand on.

Sora stirred the machine closer to the edge of the building. "Riku! Jump on!"

"Jump?" Riku questioned. He knew Sora had jumped onto some flying device, but with everything that was happening all at once, his mind felt distorted. He couldn't judge exactly where Sora was exactly or more importantly where he wanted him to jump. Sora wanted him to jump off a falling building onto a moving object and his mind was racing far too quickly to try to process it properly.

"Come on! Hurry!" Sora said as he stirred a bit closer.

"I don't know where you want me to jump though!" Riku shouted back.

Sora bit his lip, seeing the difficulty there would be with Riku was blind. Slowly Sora tried to set the machine to just hover in place as he moved over to the platform. He held out his hand and leaned closer to Riku. "Reach for my hand!"

Riku breathed slowly as he tried to focus his mind again. He tried to stand up on the now slanted building and held out his hand. " _Sora's right in front of me. Right there… just have to reach a little further."_

Riku's hand then grabbed onto Sora's and with one pull Sora pulled him up onto the platform. Now that Riku was there Sora went back to the pilots positions. He glanced around to see the giant dragon machine still flying around, and it was slowly heading back towards them.

"Hold on tight, looks like we're going to have to fight that thing," Sora replied as he grabbed the handle to steer it and swerved them away from the falling castle tower.

Riku sighed heavily as he tried to brace himself better on the platform. Now that there were up in the air, flying around, everything felt even more blurry and distorted. He could still barely sense the machine that was flying around, and now he couldn't even tell what was happening. "You're going to have to handle it."

"What? But Riku…" Sora started as he tried to keep his focus on where he was flying.

"I can barely even sense what is going on. There isn't much I can do right now," Riku quietly replied as he lowered her head.

Sora stared for a moment as a pit form in his stomach. He didn't want to see Riku look so discouraged, but he didn't know what else he could do. "Just hold on tight, and don't worry," he started to say. "I'll handle it."

Riku sighed again as he nodded. "All right."

He didn't want to show Sora that he was upset that he couldn't really help, but it started to eat away at him again. He tried his best to force a calm and collect face rather that the hurt expression he wanted to show.

He felt useless right now.

He hated that he couldn't do anything now.

Unable to see anything. Unable to help fight against some giant machine flying in the air. He could only just stand there and have Sora do all the work. He would only hope there would be something he could do eventually. But for now, all he could do was stand there and do nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably one of my favorite chapters. Just cause of emotional conflict and stuff lol.   
> Hope you all enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5

Sora did his best to fly the machine through the air, though he kept wanting to glance at Riku to make sure he was doing okay. The only thing was that Riku had gone from standing on the side platform to sitting. Due to not being able to sense things too well, he said he had felt more disoriented and he said it was better if he sat down. While he didn't flat out say it, Sora figured it wasn't just wanting to sit down. He figured that Riku must have also been afraid that he could lose his balance and fall. Even though the machine they were on had some gravity enhance so that couldn't happen, it still worried him, With sitting at least Riku could hold that balance a bit better, but that was all he could do.

Sora wanted to say something to Riku, but quickly he swerved the machine to the right as a series of lasers shot out at them. He still had been attacking the giant dragon-like machine, and though parts of it were already destroyed, it still was managing to stay in the air.

Eventually the last parts of the machine were finally hit and destroyed. The machine seemed to let out a roar as it fell down towards the ground of the world. It crashed heavily and Sora watched as smoke billowed up from down below.

"Is it defeated?" Riku asked, only relying on the sound of the machine crashing as well as the smell of the smoke. Other than that everything was still too hard to sense to get an understanding of what was going on.

"I think so? I'll take us down there for a closer look," Sora said as he started to stir them down towards the ground.

But before he could darkness arose out from the dragon-like machine and it spewed everywhere. Darkness flew all around them, covering everything in sight. Even without being able to see, Riku could at least tell there was something going on. He could start to sense some form of a presence again in the area beside Sora.

Sora watched as soon they were completely engulfed in the darkness. He kept a steady hand on the handle as he hoped for the smoke and darkness to clear. Soon enough it did, and the world around them had started to change. Building from the ground below now floating in the sky, and the dragon machine now had a part of it open. The part that now was open was at the head, and from where Sora was, he could see something was sitting there.

Without a doubt, he had a feeling who it could be. "Xemnas is still alive! He's at the top of the machine, I'll fly us down."

"All right, be careful," Riku replied as he tried to brace himself slightly as he felt them start to descend.

Sora flew them down closer and now saw that Xemnas was sitting in a throne and wore strange armor. Sora didn't lower down any further at the time and instead looked over to Riku. "I think we're going to have to jump down to where he is. He's sitting in some kind of throne, but he isn't getting up from it."

Riku nodded slowly. "Okay…" he slowly pushed himself back up into a standing position. "Let me know when to jump."

Sora nodded out of habit, though he now knew there wasn't a point. Riku couldn't see him anyways. With a deep breath he flew them down right above the floor of the throne area.

"Now!" Sora shouted before jumping off.

Riku jumped seconds after him and landed right next to him, only stumbling slightly upon hitting the ground. But with a quick breath he regained his posture and took a moment to try and sense what was around him. Now that they were on the ground again, he could tell that Sora was clearly next to him, and that several feet in front was Xemnas. Riku internally sighed with relief that this wouldn't be as hard as he feared.

Sora looked up to see that the skies around them had changed and they seemed to be in some sort of void. Things were being pulled back into some area far behind them and the force of it was enough to start pulling their flying device back and away. Sora thought to comment on it, but didn't think it needed to be focused on right now. What did matter was fighting Xemnas, as well as making sure Riku would be all right.

The two of them then stepped into their fighting positions, summoned their keyblades, and prepared to attack Xemnas. Before they moved, Sora decided to speak quickly, having some thoughts on his mind. Thankfully for whatever reason, Xemnas was waiting patiently for them and did not move from his spot.

"Hey Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to thank Namine, but…" Sora paused for a moment as he figured out the rest of his thoughts. "I couldn't bring myself to say it. Not until everything… was back to the way it was before."

Sora hoped that the way he phrased his sentence didnt off put Riku too much, with taking about 'the way it was before', seeing as there were not somethings that could never go back. One thing had changed that couldn't be fixed or anything. But it seemed Riku wasn't focusing on that subject anymore and answered Sora.

"Don't worry, we'll make it happen. Once this is over, you can thank her all you want."

Sora nodded, now with a bit more seriousness. "Yeah!"

They looked to Xemnas, who now seemingly raised his armored head to look at them. The two readied to charge at him, though before they could get close, Xemnas sent a strong force of wind at them, knocking them far back out of the throne room area and into the space around them. Sora managed to stop falling back and now floating in space, most likely now due to the low gravity with everything that was happening. Sora quickly looked to his side though and saw Riku had also stopped falling back, with that he was able to stop holding his breath.

Though without hesitation he flew over to Riku. "Riku! You okay?!"

No words left Riku's lips. He only could nod. There was no way he would ever be able to get his words out right now. Being blasted back without warning or knowledge that it could happen… he was in a state of near shock. If he could have just seen what Xemnas did before sending them back… maybe he wouldn't be so scared. But now… floating in the sky, not knowing what was around or below him, sent a whole new level of fear through him.

A gentle hand reached for his arm. He knew it was Sora there for him, but he couldn't manage any words. He still could feel his whole body shaking, every bit of him terrified. He knew he shouldn't be though. Under normal circumstances he would be fine. If he could just see… then he wouldn't be worrying so much.

"Riku? Come on… I'm right here for you. I'll guide us back," Sora said as he started to fly across the void space, back towards Xemnas. He knew to choose his words carefully and knew it was better to say 'us' than 'you' to Riku. He didn't want to make Riku feel singled out. He didn't want Riku to think that he was just watching over him.

He wanted to do this together with his best friend. He wanted to get through this together and make it back home with Riku by his side. Sora was going to make sure that would happen. He flew back, not once letting go of Riku, until they made it back to the throne floor that Xemnas still sat at. As soon as they touched the floor, the two of them once again charged forward at Xemnas and began to attack him. There were more times when Xemnas tried to knock them back into the void of space, but Sora kept trying his best to keep them to the floor. Even when they started to get blown back from the force of Xemnas's attack, Sora tried to ground himself, and would hold on to Riku. It also helped to use a bit of gravity magic to keep them down, that was one way he knew they couldn't get knocked away.

* * *

It hadn't taken long until Sora thought that they had struck down Xemnas again. But the world around them shifted again and now they were no longer in the throne area that they were before. They were now standing in an eerie grey and white void that seemed to stretch on forever. And now standing in the several feet in front of them was Xemnas. His black Organization cloak now was changed to be white with an intricate black design around it.

"Heroes from the realm of light... I will not allow it to end this way… not yet. If light and darkness are eternal, then surely we nothings must be the same... Eternal!" Xemnas ranted as he stretched out his arms.

"You're right, light and darkness are eternal. Nothing probably goes on forever, too. But guess what, Xemnas?" Riku started to say, and Sora knew exactly what to follow with.

"That doesn't mean _you're_ eternal!"

Xemnas chuckled deeply as he glared at the boys. "No more eternal than that radiance of yours…"

Xemnas started to float up in the air as his hands sparked with energy. "Anger and hate are supreme," He stated before the sparks formed into his enthral blades and he lunged at the duo.

Thankfully, even within such a strange place, Riku was still able to fully sense Xemnas. He moved to the side just in time before Xemnas could strike at him. He could tell that Xemnas was doing more than just using his weapon. There was some other aura or something that flowed around him every once and a while that seemed to act as a barrier. It was hard to notice at first, as it did knock Riku back a few times, but he kept trying.

The hardest thing to dodge though was Xemnas's lasers. Though they did give off some level of energy, it was still hard to judge when and where Xemnas would strike them. Several attacks did manage to hit against Riku, leaving bruises and light burns against his skin, but Riku wasn't going to give up yet. He knew he couldn't. Even with his blindness, he and Sora had made it this far together. He knew that they could finally defeat Xemnas if they just kept working together.

Eventually though he heard Sora let out a large gasp as they stepped near each other. Riku could tell that Xemnas was high above them, but there was something else. There were small bits of energy formed all around them.

"Sora! What's happening?!" Riku quickly asked as his grip on his keyblade tightened.

"Xemnas has us surrounded by lasers! Like a lot of them!"

Riku gritted his teeth. If they were surrounded by lasers, that meant that Xemnas intended to shoot them all at them. And if there were as many as Riku was sensing, it would be extremely hard to dodge every single one of them. He still readied his keyblade as he felt the laser energy grow closer.

There were so many and without being able to truly see them, it made it hard to completely dodge. Riku felt several of the lasers hit into his arms and legs, but he kept trying to move around out of the way of them. He could only hope that Sora was having an easier time, as he could tell he was moving a lot and letting out heavy grunts and he seemed to be deflecting as many lasers as he could.

It was still exhausted though. Xemnas didn't let up one bit with sending barrages of lasers at them. There must have been thousands that were shot at them, and they didn't have a single second to catch their breaths.

Eventually the lasers stopped and all seemed to go silent from Xemnas. Riku and Sora both dropped to their knees and they tried to finally get a chance to properly breathe. That one moment though was enough for Xemnas to approach without Riku even noticing.

He just was right in front of him now. " _How did he-"_

Before Riku could even finish his thought, Xemnas struck one ethereal blade right into Riku's face. Riku cried out as he was knocked back and tumbled to the ground. He groaned as he tried to regain his barings. And in the second he sensed something dire in front of him.

Sora was still kneeling down on the ground and Xemnas had a laser pointed right at him. With only a few short seconds to move, Riku jumped to his feet and ran towards the two. Before Xemnas could strike at Sora, Riku jumped forward and pushed Sora away as hard as he could.

The next thing Riku felt was the burning feeling of the laser pushed forcefully against his back. Though it was built of energy, it still somehow was strong enough to push against him like a sword.

Riku wanted to suppress his scream, but the pain was far more than he expected. His sense of everything around him blurred out for the moment as the pain increased. He started to fall back when he heard Sora call to him. Only listening to the sound of Sora's voice, he figured he was falling right near Sora. Without warning through he felt Sora grab onto the handle of his keyblade and took it from him.

As Riku hit the ground again he could hear Sora yelling angrily. Riku could only figure that Sora was now attacking Xemnas in quick repetition. Riku tried to stand, but the searing pain that now radiated in the middle of his back was too much for him. He casted a cure spell, to heal help if there was a wound, but the pain still lingered heavily.

Though now his senses were coming back to him again and he sensed Sora landing right next to him. Sora held out his arm, with keyblade in hand."Riku!"

Without another word, Riku got the idea of what Sora wanted. He nodded slowly and placed his hand over Sora's. Sora guided the keyblade up towards where Xemnas was most likely hovering now in the sky. Light formed around the keyblade as it collected up at the tip and shot out and hit Xemnas dead on.

Xemnas seemed to let out an angered shout before his entire presence faded away completely. Sora let out a happy sigh as he handed Riku back his own keyblade. "We did it!"

Riku wanted to agree, but he started to sense something else in the area. Even though his body was still in pain from the beating that Xemnas had put on him, he pushed himself into a standing position. Suddenly hundreds of Dusk Nobodies swirled up out of nowhere.

Riku sighed as he readily himself with his keyblade. "I wouldn't be too sure of that."

* * *

The two of the managed to fight off the Dusks and finally they were all alone in the void. Though the pain was getting to be too much for Riku. Not only was his back still hurting, but during the battle at some point he had twisted his left ankle. The pain started to burn everywhere again and he finally gave in and dropped to his knees.

He breathed heavily unsummoned his keyblade. " _Is that… finally all? Is it over?"_ Riku thought to himself as he felt Sora kneel down next to him and place an arm on his shoulder.

"Riku?"

Riku didn't answer though as he started to think more about his own situation. " _I managed to get this far… yet I still end up hurt and broken. Would I have been able to dodge more of Xemnas's attacks if I could see? Maybe I wouldn't have gotten my back hurt then… And then the lasers… Sora seemed to get through them fine… but not me. I guess I'm not done paying the price yet for my choices…"_

"Riku… please answer me…" Sora whispered as he leaned closer to Riku.

Slowly Riku shook his head. "Sora…" Riku placed his hands on the ground as he hunched over. He tried to keep himself calm, but his voice was already shaking. "I can't…"

"Don't say another word! It's not over. It's just not!" Sora shouted as he moved to wrap one arm around Riku. He took Riku's left arm though and slung it over his shoulder. "We're going to stand up okay?"

"But Sora…"

"No buts, now come on," Sora said as he slowly started to rise up.

Riku sighed as he tried to stand up along with Sora, gritting his teeth slightly at the pain that started up in his ankle and back again. "How can you still think it isn't over? Where even are we Sora? I can't sense anything for miles… who knows how long it goes on."

"C'mon Riku. You've been hanging out in darkness too long. You gotta try and think more positive!" Sora said, hoping that his positive vibes could get through to Riku.

"Not like I have much choice to hang around in darkness anymore…" Riku muttered, blinking a couple times. He still hoped that maybe if he blinked enough that his sight would come back. That it was all just some trick or magic that was cast on him. But no matter how many times he blinked or moved his eyes, they still remained in darkness.

"Riku…" Sora sighed as he saw his friend worrying about not being able to see again. He tried to think what else he could say. What else could he even say though? What was there to encourage Riku to keep going? Sora wasn't sure, but he was going to keep trying.

"I'm still not going to leave you behind! No matter what we are sticking together! I'm sticking to what I know best and that is staying positive."

Riku couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's statement. After nearly a year of not seeing Sora, he had truly missed that. He had missed talking and goofing around with his best friend. Smiling a bit more he looked towards where Sora was standing, even though he knew he was probably not staring at him directly.

"All right," he nodded slowly. After a pause he spoke again. "And Sora?"

"Hm, yeah?"

"You can lead," Riku answered simply.

Sora nodded. "Got it."

He was still dealing with the pain, which seemed to distract from his focus on sensing everything around him. But he knew Sora was there for him. Sora would never look down at him with disappointment. Even after everything, Sora was still there and always wanted to help. Riku smiled slightly as Sora adjusted his arms so that he could hold Riku in the back by his belt, lifting him a slight bit so he wouldn't have to put as much pressure on his ankle. The two of them started to walk through the weird and strange void, not knowing what would be coming, but Riku continued to smile slightly knowing that he was with his best 


	6. Chapter 6

Riku and Sora had been walking for who knows how long. Sora couldn’t even judge how far they had gone as it was all was strange white to grey void. They continued to trudge along though, with Sora still holding onto Riku to support him. Riku had remained rather quiet throughout all of it, and Sora could understand. He knew that his friend was probably having hundreds of thoughts through his head about the situation. About his situation. He was still blind and injured after all and it made their walk a little slower than it would have been normally. 

“Hey Riku, how you feeling right now?” Sora asked as they continued walking. 

“I’m not sure… a little better than before I think. No sign of anything though?” 

“No nothing… just the empty void everywhere.” 

“Ah… okay. Maybe there is really nothing here after all…” Riku sighed as he lowered his head. 

“Come on Riku, we’ve been over this already. You can’t give up yet. There had to be something else out there. I can just feel it. We just…” Sora glanced around again at the endless void. He bit his lip slightly before he continued. “We just haven’t found it yet.” 

“I really hope there is something to find…” Riku muttered. 

“Is there anything else you wanna talk about?” Sora asked after a moment, wanting to keep their conversation going rather than have it fall back to silence. 

Riku sighed heavily. “I really don’t know. I just feel so exhausted right now.”

“Do you wanna rest a little? Maybe I have enough magic restored to use Curaga now,” Sora said as he slowed their pace a little more.

Riku shook his head. “No Sora… it’s fine. Let’s just keep moving. If we can find a way out of here… then maybe.” 

Sora bit his lip again as he saw the sorrow filled expression on Riku’s face. Suddenly something caught the corner of his eyes. He looked up and gasped. “Riku loo-” Riku immediately bit down on his tongue before he could finish the word. It was only out of pure instinct that he had almost said it, but he knew it wouldn’t help now. 

“What is it?” Riku asked, seeming not to hear Sora’s slip up. Or maybe he did, but he was choosing to ignore it since he knew it was a simple mistake. 

“There’s a light up ahead. Should we keep heading towards it?” Sora asked. 

“Yeah, there isn’t anything else here anyways right?” 

“Hmm good point. Let’s go then,” Sora replied before heading them right towards the light that shined before them. 

They got closer to the light, and it seemed to grow brighter. Sora squinted as he could feel that they were passing right through the light. And then it was gone. Sora blinked to adjust his eyes and gasped at what he saw. They were now in a darkened realm, and Sora just knew that it had to be the Realm of Darkness. 

Besides him Riku shuddered. The abrupt change from sensing nothing to sensing darkness all around him was a bit jarring. Now that his eyes no longer worked and he only could sense things, he now could tell there was so much darkness around him. 

“We’re… in the Realm of Darkness… aren’t we?” Riku asked as he tried to calm his senses to get adjusted to knowing there was darkness for endless miles. At least know even though there was tons of darkness filling his senses, he could feel and sense the layout of the land.

“Yeah, looks like it,” Sora replied as he continued to look around the area. 

“I can sense around me now, with where everything is. I think… I should be able to walk on my own.” 

Sora turned his head back to Riku. “A-Are you sure? You think you can manage? Can I at least try casting Curaga right now on your wounds to heal them up?” 

“Sure. I think I should be fine after that,” Riku said as he felt Sora slowly let go of it. With a deep breath he stood up more straight and waited for the cure magic to flow over him. One quick thought hoped that maybe… maybe this time with the cure magic, it would also heal his eyes. But when he felt the magic flow over his and heal up his remaining wounds, his eyes stayed the same. His vision was still gone and there was only darkness 

Riku stood still, trying to take in everything around him so he could better sense where everything was. As he did that he could sense Sora was walking close to a shoreline that was in the Realm of Darkness. He walked right up to the shore and stopped, and Riku figured he must have been looking out at the darkened horizon.

“You know…” Sora started, muttering semi-quietly. “Maybe the darkness has gotten to me, too.” 

Riku tensed when he heard Sora say that. He never once thought that out of everyone that Sora would say something like that. Riku tried to move forward, but he applied too much pressure onto his bad ankle. The wounds may have healed, but magic could not cure a twisted or broken appendage. Not fully at least. Riku grunted as he lost his balance among the pain from his ankle and crashed into the sandy ground below. 

“Riku!” Sora yelled as he ran right back to Riku and kneeled down besides him. “You okay?”

“I… I’m…” Riku started, but he ended up trailing off. He wanted to say that he was fine, but he knew it was all a lie. The more he sat there, the more he could feel the darkness moving around them. It didn’t help lighten his mood one bit about his situation, but it did give his some thoughts about the situation they were in. “Maybe… I should just fade back into darkness…” 

“What? Riku…” Sora said as he placed a hand on his friend’s back. 

“What I mean is… this is what this world is. Just darkness. We’ll be the darkness here if the world is made of light and darkness.” 

“Ooh I get it. The realm of the light safe now… Kairi, the king, and all the others are there still.” 

“Yeah,” Riku paused for a moment as he could hear the waves from the water washing up and down on the shore. “Hey, Sora... “ Riku stopped for a moment as he hesitated. He still did not feel too keen on having to ask for help, but he knew he couldn’t do everything on his own. “I… I want to get down to the water. C-Could… you know…” he trailed off, feeling too embarrassed to be asking for help on such a simple task. 

“It’s okay Riku, I get it. Don’t worry, I’ll help,” Sora said as he placed his arm around Riku again for support and started walking them to the shore. 

“At least the waves sound the same,” Riku commented, easily hearing the waves as they drew closer. 

“Yeah. It’s peaceful sounding at least, given where we are,” Sora added on. 

They finally made it to the shoreline and Sora helped Riku sit down. He sighed heavily as he placed his hands behind him for support as he leaned back. He breathed in slowly as he listened to the waves, trying to relax himself. Sora sat right next to him and seemed to be doing the same thing. 

The more they sat in silence, the more it gave Riku to think over everything. The adventure had been long, but now they could finally just rest and relax. And that gave him reason to think about things, and how they were changed forever now. As he thought about it, his thoughts drifted to how calm and collected Sora was just sitting there next to him. It brought up thoughts to him that he had not cared to think about for a while. But now that they were here, he thought it was better to bring them up then never at all. 

“Sora… Can I tell you something?” Riku asked as he tilted his head towards Sora’s direction. 

“Sure. What’s up?”

Riku let out a long and heavy sigh. “I have to admit this… that I’ve… I’ve always been jealous of you.”

“Jealous? Why would you say that?” 

“I used to think I was always better at stuff than you… but there was always one thing that you were better at,” Riku said as he lowered his head slightly. 

“And what’s that?” 

“I always wished I could live life like you do. Just going about and following my heart…” Riku said, slightly quieter than before, but it was still loud enough for Sora to hear. Riku never though he would ever admit that to Sora, yet with how he was now, he didn’t care to hide it from him anymore. He couldn’t even see how Sora was reacting anyways, so he thought he could get it off his chest without having to worry about how Sora would see it. 

“Ahh, I see. Well, I’ve got my share of problems, too.” 

Riku raised an eyebrow, curious what Sora meant. “Like what?” 

“Like… wanting to be like you,” Sora answered honestly. 

Riku smiled a little, feeling a warmth in his heart. He was thankful that he was finally having this time now to talk with Sora. He finally felt more relaxed than he ever had before. “Thanks. But then, there is one advantage to being me... Something you could never imitate.”

“Really? What's that?” Sora asked, genuinely wondering what it was. 

Riku turned his head a little more towards Sora, hoping that Sora was looking at him at least. He could feel a couple of tears escaping eyes, but he didn’t go to wipe them away. 

With a moment of waiting he finally gave his answer. “Having you for a friend.”

Before he could react Sora threw his arms around Riku and held him tightly. He had no time to support himself properly and the two of them fell back to the ground, with Sora still hugging him. Riku gritted his teeth slightly upon the abrupt impact, but he didn’t say anything about it. He could hear now that Sora was crying a little bit so he slowly wrapped his arms back around Sora. 

“I’ve missed you Riku,” Sora whispered. 

“I know… I’ve missed you too.”

“I’m happy you’re still my friend,” Sora added as he slowly started to calm himself down. 

“Of course. I’m still sorry though… for everything that I did before. I wasn’t being a good friend then…” Riku replied. 

“It’s fine. That’s all in the past now. All that matters is that we are together again.”

Riku smiled. “Yeah… it’s nice to know that we’re still good. But um Sora? Do you think you could get off me? I’m still a bit sore after that battle…”

“Oh! Sorry!” Sora quickly apologized as he sat back up before helping Riku back up into a sitting position. 

Riku laughed a little as the two of them went back to listen to the waves shortly after. There was no way to judge the time that flowed in the Realm of Darkness, but they figured after a while it must have been at least an hour or so. But they just sat there, resting after their long, tiring battle. It truly did feel good to just sit and relax and not have to worry about anything else. 

Though Riku soon felt something brush up against his feet. He leaned forward and reached out to where he could faintly sense an object. Upon picking it up he ran his hands over it and felt that it was a bottle. But of course what it looked like or if there was anything else was something he could not do. 

“Sora? This just washed up here,” he said as he held it out for Sora to see. 

“Hey, there’s something inside it,” Sora said as he took the bottle from Riku.

Riku could hear Sora pulling out the cork that was closing the bottle and some paper rustling. He then realized that there was a letter of some sorts that had to have been in there. “Does it say anything?” 

“Yeah… and it’s from Kairi,” Sora said before he started to read the letter out loud. “Thinking of you, wherever you are. We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend. Now I will step forward to realize this wish. And who knows: Starting a new journey may not be so hard or maybe it has already begun. There are many worlds, but they share the same sky---one sky, one destiny.”

As soon as Sora finished reading it, Riku sensed something different ahead of them. Something far different than the endless darkness that surrounded them. It was brighter and warmer than the cold darkness. Even without being able to see it, Riku could tell exactly what it was. 

“That light…” 

“The door to light…” Sora muttered before he stood up. “Come on Riku, this time we are going to go together.” He held out his hand to Riku and waited for his response. 

Riku was a little hesitant at first. Though he knew the light would be the way they could get home, he felt a slight bit afraid. The last time they had been surrounded by light… was how he lost his sight. Though it wasn’t like he could lose any more of that… but he still worried what would happen. 

“Riku,” Sora said as he kneeled down next to him. “I’ll be right besides you.”

The hesitation that resided within Riku faded as he smiled. He knew now that Sora was going to keep reaching out for him, and that he was going to help. He still was a bit worried having to rely on his friend so much, but he knew Sora didn’t mind. He reached forward and Sora took hold of his hand and pulled him up to his feet. 

Once he felt he was steady enough, the two of them wadded into the water and towards the light. What laid beyond it they had no idea, all they knew that it had come to help them. And as soon as they passed through it, everything seemed to blur in their minds. 

Before they realized it, they were falling. They were falling from the sky, but Riku could tell that they were no longer in the Realm of Darkness. There was barely anytime for Riku to try and sense anything before he hit cold water below him. The abruptness shook his from his concentration and he immediately tried to find which way was the surface. 

Panic rose in his chest as he realized he was struggling to turn himself up right in the way. Water fillled his mouth as he kicked and moved before his hand broke the surface of the water. He quickly tried to turn and swim up there, and as soon as he felt the air against his face he coughed out as much water as he could. He knew now that he was on the surface of the water, but there was still the fact he couldn’t see around him. 

He knew he was in water and that was it. He had no idea how deep the water was or how far from land he could be. Riku gasped a few times, trying to breathe properly again, as he tried to keep himself afloat but he was still feeling disoriented. His heart rate continued to increase as he tried to move forward to where Sora was. As soon as he got close enough he threw his arms around Sora and held on tight. 

“R-Riku?! You okay?” Sora asked as he adjusted his weight to try and keep both of them afloat now. 

Riku clung tightly to Sora as he coughed up more water. He tried to answer, but he couldn’t find his voice. Sora didn’t try to press anything more on him though, as he could feel that Riku’s hands were trembling. He then took the moment to look where they were, and he could see Destiny Island in the distance, but the island that they always played at was much closer. 

And when he squinted he could see Kairi standing on the shoreline waving her hands. “Sora! Riku!” 

“We aren’t that far from the island Riku. Just hold on tight and I’ll guide us there,” Sora replied as he started to swim them towards the island. 

Riku tried to help a little with swimming once he felt that they were moving in a direction, but he found himself too afraid to let go. He had the littlest thought that if he let go he would drown. He knew it was a foolish thought to think such a thing, but it was plaguing his mind heavily and he couldn't fight against those thoughts. 

He kept his hold onto Sora until he could feel the sand behind them drawing closer and closer. Eventually the water was shallow enough that they could stand with no problem. Sora stopped and looked to Riku before trying to help him stand back up. With a shaky sigh of relief Riku finally let go of Sora, but still stood close besides him. 

“You okay now?” Sora asked quietly as they started to walk the rest of the way. 

“Yeah, I’m better now… thanks though… Sorry if I freaked out too much back there.”

“No Riku, I understand. It was a bit startling after all. But come on, everyone is waiting for us!” Sora said as he ran ahead to see everyone who was standing on the beach. 

Riku chose to walk slowly though, as walking through water with no vision proved to be a bit harder than he expected it to be. But as he got closer he took in the layout of the island. It was the island he had always played at as a child with Sora and Kairi. Ever since he left though over a year ago he never properly came home. But now finally he was home. After so long of trying to hide away from it, he had come back. 

As Riku got closer he sensed that Sora had been tackled down by Donald and Goofy into a friendly hug. Riku walked a little further though until he came closer to where Mickey was standing. 

“Welcome back,” Mickey said. 

Riku nodded as he stepped out of the water and just took a moment to take in his surroundings. Though as he did his heart started to twist and ache. He was home… but he couldn't see it. Despite always wanting to leave the islands when he was young, he did always love the view. But that view was only in his memories now. Something he could remember, but never see again. 

Riku closed his eyes as he tried to shake away those negative thoughts.  _ “Snap out of it Riku. What matters is you’re home. Home with your friends. I can’t keep fixating on this. I need… I gotta work through this. I’m sure I’ll find a way…”  _

Riku wished that it would be quick. That he could overcome this obstacle and move on with his life. But he knew for sure that it would be no easy task. It would be a struggle from now on, and he just had to deal with it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally back to Destiny Islands, but it ain't over yet! There is still much more to come!


	7. Chapter 7

The remainder of the day was spent on the island, hanging out and relaxing with one another. It was a day to rejoice and relax. Everything was over and done with and Xemnas was gone. Everyone was happy that they could finally relax in peace without worrying about anything else. Though they all knew that there could always be something in the future, but for now they didn’t think too deeply on it. 

Riku tried his hardest to remain strong in his mind during the fun. He didn’t want to let anyone know that he still had a few lingering thoughts about his new blindness. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn’t want to ruin any of the fun with his worries and sadness. But it couldn’t last forever. 

The night soon approached and that was when Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had to head back to their own world. Though they all knew that they wouldn’t see each other soon, they knew they would again one day meet again. Sora of course being the most positive that they would all meet again hopefully soon. 

“Hey, Riku,” Mickey said as he approached Riku once he had said his goodbye’s to Kairi and Sora. 

Riku turned his head upon hearing Mickey’s voice. “Huh? Yeah?”

“Just wanted to see how you’re feeling, and you know say goodbye before we leave,” Mickey replied. 

Riku wanted to sigh. How could he explain how he was feeling? How could he do that without having to explain how upset he still felt? He didn’t want to lie, but telling the truth wasn’t what he was really feeling up to. He tried to think of what he could say, trying to think of a positive thought. 

“I’m all right I guess, just haven’t been properly home in over a year,” Riku replied. It was an honest thought that he had. It was true that he hadn’t been home since it had been originally consumed by darkness. Since then he had only made a few stops back to the island, during the time that Sora was sleeping and getting his memories back. 

“I can understand how you feel,” Mickey replied. “I bet Minnie has been missing me a lot. But it will be nice to be home and relax.”

Riku nodded slowly. He wanted to say more. More thoughts came to his mind after only a few bits of conversation. He started to think about those he had left behind since leaving the islands. Thoughts of his mother came to both his mind and heart. His dear old sweet mother. He had left without warning. Not a single word to her. How did she feel when she saw that her son no longer home when the islands returned from darkness? How did she feel for that long year that he was away? How broken was her heart? And now… how would she feel to see that her precious little boy was now blinded. Riku sighed as he tried to shake away his thoughts. 

“Riku? Riku, you okay there?” Mickey asked, seeing that Riku had begun to space out. 

“Oh, sorry about that,” Riku replied quickly. “Just thinking about something…” 

“You sure you’re okay?” Mickey asked. 

Riku was glad that he was friends with Mickey. He had chosen to be there for him, even when he thought he didn’t deserve to have help from anyone. But he still didn’t want to push all his negative thoughts out onto his friend. He was trying to be better with himself. Letting his negative thoughts of his blindness wasn’t going to help anyone let alone himself. 

He sighed heavily before shaking his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just have a lot of thoughts about… some things…” 

“Aw ya know Riku, you can tell me or anyone else. We aren’t going to judge you.”

Riku smiled slightly. “Thanks Mickey. It’s nice to know I still got friends who want to help me.”

“Always happy to help,” Mickey replied with a small laugh. 

Riku still chose not to say anything more. He was truly happy for the kindness of a friend, but he didn’t feel in the mood to talk about anything else. The two of them said their goodbyes then separate ways. Mickey went back with Donald and Goofy and joined a group goodbye. Then they left to teleport up to the gummi ship. 

Riku, Sora and Kairi came together after that and made their way back to the mainland. The sun had set below the horizon, and there was barely any light left in the sky. There was only a little bit of residual light left, but the dark blue night sky was slowly invading. 

Kairi was the first to reach her house. Before she headed inside she wrapped an arm around both of the boys. She smiled greatly as she pulled them closer. “I’m so happy, we’re finally all back together.”

“It’s really great, isn’t it,” Sora added before he placed his own arms around the other two. 

Riku wasn’t exactly sure what to say. He had been so lost in his thoughts for the remainder of the day that he hadn’t thought too deeply on being with his friends. But the warm light that came off both of his friends was easing his stress that had been building up. 

He sighed internally to himself.  _ “I shouldn’t be like this. I gotta stop thinking about all these other things. Those can wait, but right now my friends are the most important thing to me.” _

He slowly reached out and put one arm around Kairi and the other around Sora. “You guys… I’m happy too. Sorry if I haven’t really been the best since getting back.”

“It’s okay Riku,” Kairi said. “I know you probably have a lot on your mind. Do you wanna tell us any of it?”

“You know you can always tell us Riku, we’re here for you,” Sora added.

Riku smiled happily at the words spoken. He was still always a bit worried that he had ruined his friendship with his friends since he had betrayed them. It was one of his worst fears… losing his closest and best friends. But despite everything, they were still there for him, wanting to still be his friend. 

At the time being, he had come to a plan not to tell anyone else about his feelings of his blindness. The day was a happy day for defeating all of Organization XIII, he didn’t wanna bring it down with his problems. Though he knew Sora and Kairi wouldn’t let him off that easily. They could tell that something was bothering Riku, and they wouldn’t give up until they found it. 

With that Riku decided to tell some of the truth, as there was another thing that was on his mind besides his eye sight problem. “I guess I have something. I just don’t know how I am going to face my parents, mainly my mother. I’m sure I’ll be grounded for the rest of my life once I get back home.”

Sora laughed slightly. “Aw well we will have to make sure to talk to your mom. I can try to explain as much as I can without revealing everything that actually happened.”

“I agree,” Kairi said. “I am sure your mother wouldn’t believe us anyways if we talked about an adventure to other worlds out there.”

“Thanks,” Riku replied, happy hearing his friends were ready to have his back. “I’ll see what happens tonight though when I talk to her.”

“Would you want us to maybe come with, then? Just to be there to be back up support?” Kairi asked. 

Riku shook his head. “No, I gotta do this on my own. I’m sure it won’t actually be that bad… I hope.”

Sora and Kairi nodded before they realized that Riku may not be able to sense them doing that. Neither of them had really asked how well or to what degree Riku could sense things. It was a bit hard knowing Riku wouldn’t see them again, but they didn’t want to get down about it. It was a hard thing to accept, but as far as they knew there was nothing that could be done. And Riku had to manage it all on his own. Sora and Kairi wished they could be more than just support, but for the time being they had no idea what else they could do. 

Kairi cleared her throat. “Riku, just remember, if you ever need to talk we’re here to listen. No matter what it is, we will be there to help you.”

Riku slowly smiled again. “Thanks. It means a lot.”

The three finally let go of their hug and Kairi headed into her house. Riku and Sora said their last goodbye to her before they continued down the path. Their houses were a bit farther up the hill from Kairi’s but it wasn’t much of a walk, Destiny Islands wasn’t the largest town after all. 

The two boys walked mostly in silence. Riku was far too concerned thinking about his mother to try and make any conversation. Sora, on the other hand, was trying to figure out what to say. He could tell from Riku’s expression that there were more things bothering him than just how his mother would react. But Sora didn’t want to point it out. He thought it would hurt Riku’s feelings for him to point out what expressions he saw on his face. 

_ “Trying to talk with Riku without mentioning things that he can’t see anymore… that’s harder than I thought it would be,”  _ Sora thought to himself. 

Sora’s pace started to slow. He didn’t pick up his feet as much, now trudging them across the ground. It was a faint motion and sound, but it was easy enough for Riku to pick up on. He stopped walking and turned in the direction of Sora. 

“Hey Sora, you doing okay?” 

“Huh?” Sora stopped walking and stared at Riku, a little surprised. “Nah I’m fine, maybe just a bit tired.”

Riku sighed quietly. He knew Sora too well to let it just pass as being ‘a bit tired’. He had known Sora since they were little kids. If there was one sure thing he knew about Sora, it was that Sora almost never expressed if he was feeling sad when around others. He preferred to keep it to himself and work on making others happy. There were only a few times when Riku could see that other side. 

Riku reached out and placed a hand onto Sora’s shoulder. “Sora, you keep saying you are there for me if I need it, but I can tell that you may need the same.”

Sora wanted to tell him that there really wasn’t anything wrong. He wanted to try and keep the mood as happy as it had been. But with Riku catching on, there was no point in trying to hide it. “I’m still really worried about you. I mean about how you must be feeling over all of this. You know…” Sora breathed slowly. “With your sight.”

Riku dropped his hand away from Sora. He knew that Sora had probably caught on, and there was his answer. He didn’t feel ready though. He wasn’t sure if he could go into another talk about how he would no longer be able to see again. 

Biting his lip, he knew he had to say something. Something to ease the tension at least. “I’m still getting used to it, but I can’t keep worrying about it. No good will come from it if I just sit around and mope about not seeing anything.”

“But are you sure that you’re okay with that?”

“I never said I was okay with it…” Riku replied, his voice breaking slightly. 

“Ah… sorry…” Sora replied as he lowered his head. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Riku reached out again and gently placed his hand on top of Sora’s head. He started to move his fingers in a motion to ruffle Sora’s head. He had teased and ruffled Sora’s hair many times before their adventures had started, but this time he noticed something different. He never realized it before, but Sora’s hair was far softer than he remembered. Maybe the lack of sight really was helping his other senses become stronger. Riku wasn’t too sure, but it was an interesting thing to note for later. 

“I know you didn’t mean it,” he finally said. “I only am trying to keep myself going despite having this blindness. I can’t really explain it, but I am trying, okay? I promise that if I ever need to talk about it, I’ll come to you. Got it?”

Sora raised his head and smiled at Riku. A sadness filled his heart upon doing so, knowing that Riku wouldn’t be able to even see the gesture. But he quickly shook the thoughts off. He knew Riku was trying to be better, and so he figured he should also do the same. 

“I got it. Thanks Riku.”

“I should be the one thanking you,” Riku said as they began walking again. “If it weren’t for you and your positive attitude, I would have stayed back in the Realm of Darkness.”

Sora couldn’t help but smile again from the compliment. “Thanks. You know me, I always want to look out for my friends.”

The two of them soon arrived at Sora’s house. Sora turned to Riku and gave a surprise hug without warning. Even though Riku could sense that Sora had come at him, he still wasn’t given enough time to brace himself. He stumbled back, but was able to keep himself from completely falling over. 

“Hey Sora, careful,” Riku warned. Though his warning didn’t really set in as he started to laugh. It was probably due to Sora… well being Sora. How Riku had missed this. Such a simple time and life. It felt so long ago when they were just young kids playing with wooden swords, wondering about what lay outside their little island.

“Thanks Sora,” Riku finally added before holding Sora back. 

“Always welcome,” Sora replied.

Once the two let go from their hug, Sora turned to head inside. He said one last goodbye to Riku before he entered the house. When Riku heard the door close he turned and moved on towards his house, which was just a few down from where Sora lived. His pace started to slow the closer he got to his house. He couldn’t help but think about his parents again, and what their reaction would be to see him again. 

Finally he was at the steps to their house, mere inches from the front door.  _ “I can do this. It shouldn’t be this stressful… It’s only my parents.” _

With one hand Riku reached out and felt the wood against his knuckles. He gave himself one deep breath before knocking several times against the wood. 

Then all he had to do was wait.

It only took less than a minute before the door was unlocked. Riku immediately lowered his head. He could easily sense that the person standing in the doorway was none other than his mother. 

“Riku!” she exclaimed. “Oh my god! You… You’re alive!”

Riku didn’t even have a chance to say a word back before his mother took him into an embrace. She squeezed him tightly and showed no sign of letting go, something expected from her. He continued to stay quiet though. He had no idea what he could even say now. 

“My little baby,” his mother whispered, her voice becoming shaky. “You’re home. You’ve come back.”

The longer they stood there the worse Riku felt. He hated that he ever made his mother worry. His mother always loved him dearly and always took the best care of him. And what did he do? He left without a word because he wanted to leave his home to see bigger worlds out there. He had never once thought of his mother during that entire time back then. 

Then there was the other side of Riku that made him feel sick to his stomach. He did love his mother. He was only stubborn beforehand and didn’t think about her. But now he did. And now he couldn’t see his own mother. No longer could he see her warm and kind smiles or anything else that he loved about her. And the same would go to his father. Riku didn’t know if he would feel well enough to face both of them in one night, but he knew that would probably happen anyways. 

“Riku?” his mother asked softly. “Are you okay? Please, talk to me.”

He felt a hand press gently against his face. The warm, gentle touch of a mother concerned about her son. 

That was all it took for Riku to break down what emotions he was holding back.

Tears moved down his face as he leaned forward. He held onto his mother tightly and continued to let his feelings show. He didn’t care though. He knew his mother would understand, she was always good at that. 

_ “How could I have been so selfish? So stubborn and selfish that I would leave my family behind all because I hated how small my home world was… I can’t believe I was ever like that…” _ Riku thought to himself as he felt his mother hold him once again, with one hand moving up and down on his back. 

Even though he practically abandoned his family for well over a year, he knew that they still loved him. They would accept him back and still show him the care and love that they always had. While he knew he couldn’t really explain where he had been for over a year, he knew that they would understand. But the hardest part would be explaining his new blindness. That… That would be a little bit of a struggle for him. Either way, he knew that his parents would be there for him, no matter how hard it felt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry I forgot to keep on updating this T.T  
> I still got chapters to update so I will keep on trying to remember.


	8. Chapter 8

Sora walked back and forth in his room. It had been in deep thought all morning after breakfast, and he wasn't close to stopping. His thoughts kept running around and around, making it too hard for him to sit and relax. He knew the other way to work through it was to let it go through his mind until he came to a good resolution. But he wasn't even sure if that was possible.

It had nearly been a week now since he returned home from his long journey. And since then he hadn't seen Riku at all. And now it was starting to truly worry him.

At first he decided to let Riku have some time alone. He needed to readjust being home and reuniting with his parents. Sora knew how important those things were, as he too had spent the first couple of days just being around his parents and talking things out with them. While he didn't tell them specifically where he had been, he managed to calm them down about his long disappearance. And he could only assume that Riku had the same hardship to get through with his own parents.

But now that a week had passed and he hadn't heard a word, he couldn't help but worry even more. Was Riku okay? Were his parents mad at him and left him to be grounded? How was Riku dealing with his blindness? Sora wasn't sure of any of these questions, but he was itching to find out.

He headed outside and started to head over to Riku's house. When he got there he knocked on the door and waited. A moment later the door opened and Sora saw Riku's mother. She smiled at him. "Oh Sora, I was wondering when you were going to stop by. I'm glad you are here."

From the way she said that, Sora started to wonder more if Riku was really okay. "Hi, sorry I haven't been able to visit. I thought to give Riku some time to be back home and stuff. But… uh… how is he?"

The smile faded from her face. Her eyes averted away while she sighed. "I think you better step inside, Sora."

"Huh? Wait, is he okay? Something happened?" Sora asked quickly, worry quickly rising up in his throat.

"Just relax Sora, it isn't severe, but now that you are here, maybe you can help," Riku's mother explained as Sora walked inside the house.

Once she closed the door and faced Sora again, she began to explain. "Since Riku returned… he hasn't left the house once. I've tried asking him what happened to him and where all of you disappeared too, but he kept saying he couldn't bring himself to do it, but that I shouldn't worry. He wouldn't even tell me… what happened to… you know…"

Riku's mother raised her hand slightly and pointed to her eyes. "He's closed himself off so much that I can't get through to him… and I'm his mother… So I'm hoping that maybe you can talk to him. You two have always been close, so it's just…" She sighed and trailed off, unable to finish her words.

Thankfully Sora understood completely. Though it hurt his heart to hear that Riku was isolating himself now, he knew that he had to do something about it. He had to help his friend and he wasn't going to give up on that. "Of course! I'll do whatever I can to help him!"

"Thank you, Sora," Riku's mother replied, a smile coming back to her face. "He's in his room right now… it's where he spends most of the day now."

"Okay, I'll go there right now," Sora said before heading to the hallway in the house that would lead to Riku's room.

When Sora got down there, he saw that the door was closed. He sighed quietly. " _Why is he doing this? I thought he said he wasn't going to sit around and mope. He said… he would come and talk to me if he ever needed anything. Why… Why hasn't he done that? I don't get it…"_

Sora finally reached out to knock on the door. "Riku? You in there?"

It was a silly thing to ask seeing as he knew RIku was in there, but he felt like he should be polite about it. But as he waited, he heard no response. Slowly his heart rate was increasing the longer he stood there. He knocked again, this time a bit harder than before. As he waited he kept trying to breath slowly Yet still there was that nervous beating that his heart was giving him.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore and placed his hand on the doorknob. Slowly he turned it and opened the door. When he did, he was met with darkness. The lights in the room were off, and the curtains were drawn closed. Only a little light was seeping through the curtains, but it was enough to make a difference.

Sora could see easily, and there he saw Riku sitting on the corner of his bed. He stayed there, unmoving, not even reacting to Sora opening the door. He had his knees up against his chest, though his arms rested by his side.

Sora stepped inside and cleared his throat. "Hey, Riku. What are you doing in here without any of the-"

Sora stopped himself before he could finish. But it was already too late.

"What's the point of having lights on? Don't see why it would matter to me," Riku spat out bitterly.

Sora was taken back by Riku's tone. He sounded so despondent compared to a week ago. "I… I didn't mean to say that. It was only an instinctive thing to say."

"Yeah? Well… whatever. Like I said it doesn't matter to me."

Sora moved closer to the bed, looking at Riku carefully. He didn't move from his spot or even lift his head to acknowledge Sora. By this point Sora figured Riku would say that would be pointless as well. Once Sora was right against the bed he sat down next to Riku, who did shift a little, but didn't make any attempt to get off the bed.

"Riku… what happened?" Sora asked.

He wanted to start off slow before trying to get Riku to talk. He already looked like he was having a bad day and Sora knew going right into a series of questions would be the worst thing to do for that time. He needed to take it one step at a time even though he wanted to get to the answer right away.

"Nothing…"

"I know something did though… otherwise you wouldn't be cooped up in your room all day," Sora responded.

"And what if I want to stay in my room just because I want to? There doesn't have to be something to it… I just want to," Riku grumbled.

"But Riku… I haven't seen you in a week. I thought something happened. I was really worried," Sora replied. His worry was genuine, and he could only hope that Riku would hear him out.

Riku sighed heavily. He lifted his head up and finally turned to face Sora. Though, just like the other times, his eyes were unfocused and not actually looking at Sora. But the expression on his face was still clear and readable, and Sora could see the true frustration within Riku's face. "And didn't I say that I could handle it? That I would manage on my own? I don't need everyone worrying about me!"

Sora bit his lip. It was now extremely clear how Riku was feeling. Yet the cause of it was still something to be discovered. But even though he could see how hurt Riku was, it didn't stop him from snapping back. "You said that, but you also said that if you ever needed to talk that you would come to me! What happened to that, huh!?"

The anger broke on Riku's face. It slowly started to slip into something much more sad. "I couldn't… I just couldn't do it. I wanted to be alone for the time… I know you would want to help… but I didn't feel ready to talk about any of it."

Carefully he reached out a hand towards Riku. He wasn't sure if what he was doing was a good idea or not, but he had to try. Reached out, he placed his hand on Riku's shoulder. There was a slight flinch from the silver-haired boy but no other reaction.

"Riku… Didn't I already say that you gotta stop doing so much on your own? I hate to see you like this, you know that," Sora replied.

"Yeah… But I really do think I needed some time… at least to collect myself a little," Riku muttered, his voice going much more quiet than it had been.

"Can you tell me about it now?" Sora asked as he scooted a little closer to Riku.

"I thought everything would be fine. I could adjust to being home again and adjust to this… this blindness. But as the days went by… it got to me more and more. And I started to hate every moment."

"I'm sorry Riku… but I-"

"No Sora… you don't understand."

"But I didn't even fini-" Sora tried to speak again, but Riku cut him off like before.

"I know what you were going to say. But you can't understand this. You never will understand how this feels," Riku responded. Once again his tone had shifted and it was back to sounding hurt and bitter.

"Then help me understand! Let me know how you feel so I can better understand you!" Sora responded, desperation seeping into his voice.

There was a pause before Riku answered. "Close your eyes then."

"What?"

"Close your eyes and keep them shut tight."

"Okay," Sora replied before doing what Riku asked. He closed them as tight as he could and then waited. But when Riku didn't say anything next, he realized there was no way for Riku to actually know if he had actually closed his eyes. "I-I've closed them."

"Now tell me what you see," Riku replied.

"Uh… darkness… or I guess nothing?" Sora answered, not knowing if his answer would be right or not.

"Now imagine each and every day you just see that. Nothing. Each day you open your eyes and you don't get to see the sunrise or the birds outside that are singing. You only see nothing! And that's all you ever get to see from now on. How do you feel about that?"

Sora kept his eyes closed as he tried to think. He couldn't see anything but the darkness that was created from closing his eyes. He tried to think. What would it be like? If he had to go on each day like this, what would he feel? Sora really wanted to open his eyes and to look at Riku and give him an answer. But something in him to keep his eyes shut while he did it.

And that's when he started to get the idea. "I guess… it would be hard. Not seeing anyone or anything. If it were only this from now on… I… I think I wouldn't be too happy either."

"Now you get it. You can open your eyes now if you haven't already. But yeah, that's… that's what I'm dealing with each day. Can't wake up to see the faces of my parents… or see the waves down at the shore. None of it! I… I d-don't get to see any of it…"

The more Riku spoke, the more his voice started to break. When Sora opened his eyes, he saw now that tears were trailing down Riku's face. "You know what the worst part is? I still dream… and I still can see in my dreams. I dream up everything I already know and see everyone. But then I wake up in the morning to not actually see. It makes me feel lied to… that I can dream to still have sight, yet it's still taken from me in the waking world. And I hate it… I hate it so much…"

Before saying anything Sora reached forward and wrapped his arms around Riku. Once he was holding Riku, he could feel the shaking coming from his body. This was upsetting Riku far more than he realized. But he didn't let go. He kept holding on and finally he felt Riku's arms around him and squeezed tightly.

"S-Sora… I… I don't want… You don't have to…"

"Shh. It's okay Riku. Just take your time and breathe."

Riku's grip on Sora's clothes tightened as he finally let out the sobs he had been holding back. There were no other words for him to say. He had said his point and now he needed to let the rest of his emotions out. But overall he was thankful that Sora was there for him. He had been holding back everything, but now it was out in the open for Sora to see. That didn't worry him though. All that mattered was that he finally explained it to someone and the weight was off his chest.

Eventually all the tears and sobs had dried out. All that was left was the dry and tired breathing coming from Riku. But it was finally starting to level out. He rested his head on top of Sora's while letting out a long sigh once he felt that he was calm enough.

"Thank you Sora."

"You're welcome Riku. You feel better now?"

Riku nodded slightly. "Yeah. It still doesn't fix anything… but yeah I feel better."

Though as he rested there, with his head against Sora's, a thought came to him. He thought back to how he ruffled Sora's hair and noticed how it felt. It was something his other senses told him and reminded him of those things. Suddenly an idea came to Riku as he sat up more properly.

"Hey, Sora? I got a question… but it may sound a bit strange."

"What is it Riku? Just let me know," Sora responded.

"Even though I can't see anything… I can sense everything around me. But that is just sensing them. I can't see them or feel the texture of things just by sensing. And you know my other senses work just fine. So… I just have to ask… I mean…"

Riku sighed quickly. What he was trying to ask felt weird, but he had to try at least. "May I feel your face? I remember what you look like… but I want to feel it so I know I am remembering correctly."

"Oh, sure that's fine. If it makes you feel better, then go ahead," Sora replied.

"You sure? It doesn't sound too weird or something?"

"I mean it is a weird thought, but I think I read once about blind people doing that so they can understand the outline of a person's face or something. I don't remember exactly, but it was interesting to read," Sora said.

"Okay, if you say so…" Riku said, still unsure if he should go through with it. But Sora said it was okay, and he knew Sora wanted to help anyways.

Riku reached out his hand towards the presence in front of him that was Sora. As soon as his fingers brushed against Sora's cheek all the tension and worry he had faded away. He let his fingers move around Sora's face, gently brushing them over each area. He took in the feel of Sora's cheeks to his chin to his ears. Riku took it slow and felt over each area as carefully as he could while trying to memorize the features.

Soon Riku moved his fingers closer to Sora's neck and a giggle came from him. "Hey! That tickles."

Riku pulled back his hand immediately, but he ended up laughing. "Wait, you're still ticklish?"

"Yeah, a little. I mean!" Sora stiffened up. "No! I was just caught off guard and-"

Sora couldn't finish his sentence in time. Riku tackled him down to the bed and held him tightly. And then a burst of laughter came from him which he couldn't contain. "Come on… RIku… cu-cut it… out!" Sora tried as hard as he could, but it was hard to speak clearly with the laughter breaking things up.

"I can't help it though if you're still ticklish," Riku replied, taunting slightly.

Sora tried to fight back against Riku, but he was caught up in too much laughter to really do anything worthwhile. But soon enough Riku started to laugh out the sheer fun of it. All the downer mood and tone that he had felt earlier left him and there was only happiness and enjoyment. Though he knew it wouldn't last forever. He knew one simple discussion couldn't change his mind right away to feel better about the situation. It would still take him time, but he was going to take it as he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I forgot to update this for a while I thought I could give 2 chapters in one day, so hope you all enjoyed this emotional chapter :)


	9. Chapter 9

Since the day that Sora came to see Riku, he made the best attempt he could to try and be more open to others helping him. Even if he felt like he didn’t need it, he didn’t refuse someone trying to offer him a hand. 

Though that didn’t mean that he was fully accepting of what had happened to him. He still had days that left him feeling worse than others. He would join Sora and Kairi on the island to hangout, but getting there was always the hardest. Out on a boat that was on the water, he had a hard time sensing which direction to go. His ability to sense things was pretty good, but it was not perfect and couldn’t sense everything how he wanted it. 

In the air or on the water made everything blurry and feel out of sorts. So rowing the boat to the smaller island became something that was too much of a challenge to him. It did hurt to know that he could not do such a simple task anymore and would have to ride along with Sora and Kairi, but he tried his best to not let it drag him down. Though it did weigh heavy in his heart that such a thing was even there.

Then when it came to the evening and the sun would be setting, he felt like going home, but of course he couldn’t without Sora or Kairi rowing him back. He would stay around with them though, not wanting to ruin the fun. Though the sunsets were still another thing that bothered him. What would be the point of sitting and watching a sunset if you couldn’t actually watch it with your friends? He wanted to be there for them as they watched, but there was still the sense of missing out that he could never get back. 

Despite the feelings trying to drag him down, he made sure to keep to his promise to Sora. When the days got really bad for him he would go over to visit and Sora would listen to him if he had to talk about how he was feeling. Most of the time there wasn’t anything said, they would sit next to each other, with Sora giving a comforting hug, and that was all that was needed. 

The friendship that the two of them had didn’t need them to always say what they needed. By actions alone they could get through things together, and that was what Riku was most thankful for. He couldn’t imagine never having Sora for a friend or never being able to make it up to him after what had happened. He just always found himself so thankful that he had a friend like Sora, one who truly cared and wanted to help as much as possible. 

Aside from adjusting to everyday things, there were new things that he had to learn and deal with. Now that he was blind, reading was no longer something he could do, at least not normally. While he didn’t explain to his mother how he was blinded, he did at least tell her he was. He knew there was no way he could avoid telling his parents a thing like that. 

Once she had learned about it, she took to right again getting a teacher who could teach Riku braille. That was a whole new hurdle that he had to go through and overcome. It was still not the same as actually reading like others would, but it was a unique experience to say the least. 

Today he was out by the docks, listening to the sound of the waves and the seagulls flying overhead. The wind blew gently, brushing his bangs against his face. He sighed, but made no attempt to pull them out of the way of his face. He never saw a point to that. 

Soon enough he sensed someone approaching and then he heard their footsteps. It was the lightest presence he knew out of everyone; Kairi. She walked right up to him and hummed softly. “Hey Riku, were you wanting to go out to the island today?”

“I don’t know…”

“If you want to I can go and get Sora and we could all head out there,” Kairi replied. 

“No, I don’t think I feel like it today,” Riku said in a soft voice. 

“All right. I guess it is just one of those thoughtful days then?” Kairi asked. 

“Maybe, not really sure. Today I just woke up a bit more down than usual. Needed some fresh air and to hear the sound of the waves. It’s always peaceful.”

“I guess you haven’t gone to talk to Sora yet?” 

Riku shook his head. 

“You know you can talk to me. I’ll listen and be there for you,” Kairi said, speaking truthfully and kindly. 

“Thanks Kairi,” Riku said, smiling slightly. He was glad that she was just as understanding as Sora. Truthly he was grateful for both of them not giving up on him. 

“You’re welcome Riku.”

There was silence after that, neither of them knowing what to say to one another. But it wasn’t long before Kairi breathed out slowly and talked again. “You know, you’ve still been growing your hair out for a while now. It’s gotten pretty long.”

Riku slowly ran a hand through his hair until he reached the end. When he had returned to Destiny Islands with Sora after Xemans’s defeat, his hair reached a bit past his shoulders, now a couple months later it was just about half way down his back. There were also his bangs, which had grown more and now usually covered or fell in front of Riku’s face. 

“Yeah? So?” Riku finally asked. 

“Oh, I was just commenting on it. Though… Do you think maybe you should cut it? I could help if you want.”

“What would be the point?” Riku said, sighing heavily. “It’s not like I could actually see it!” 

The last part came off more snippy than he wanted it too, and he regretted it right away. He could tell Kairi seemed a bit confused and startled by his remark as well. Slowly he turned to face her direction and lowered his head. 

“Sorry… didn’t mean to say it like that…”

Kairi walked up to him and placed a hand on his arm. “It’s all right Riku, I understand. This is still hard for you and I guess that means there are still a lot of things that are sensitive, right?”

“Yeah,” Riku said with a sigh, slightly embarrassed he had such a moment again after working so hard to not let himself get like that. With a deep breath, he tried to speak his thoughts much clearer and better than before. “If you want, you can cut my hair… you know if you think it would be better that way.”

“I think it would be good to at least trim your bangs,” Kairi said as she gently ran her fingers over them. 

Riku hesitated as he backed away from Kairi. “Maybe not the bangs…”   
  
“Huh? Why not?” 

Riku lowered his head as he began to think over it. This was the first time he was really confiding with Kairi on the subject of his blindness. He knew he could do it and he could trust her to be there for him, but the words still wanted to lump up in his throat. 

“I don’t want people to be able to see my eyes… I know they probably look weird,” Riku replied in a solemn tone. 

“I don’t think they look weird,” Kairi said as she brushed back his bangs to look at his eyes. Truthfully it was a bit of a strange sight to see with the color being faded and slightly greyed, but it was still Riku’s eyes after all. “It’s still your same color at least.”

“But…” 

“No buts Riku. No one has made comments on your eyes before, no one other than you. We all care about you Riku, so we don’t care if your eyes aren’t exactly the same as they were before. You are still you, and that is what matters most.” 

Riku let out a weak laugh of relief. “Thank you Kairi.”

“You’re welcome. And if you really, we can keep your bangs, but maybe just trim them a small bit. And if you want we could also trim your hair in back a bit and then pull it into a ponytail. I bet you would look nice like that.”

Kairi smiled cheerful to Riku, though a moment later she dropped it, remembering that he wouldn’t be able to see it. _“I guess it is still hard for the rest of us even if we can see…”_

“I like the sound of that,” Riku answered. 

Kairi reached forward and took hold of one of Riku’s hands. “Okay then! Let’s go do that!”

Kairi pulled Riku along as the two of them headed back into town. When they got to Kairi’s house she sat him down on a chair in the bathroom. Right away she started brushing his hair and pulling it into different directions. 

Riku ended up laughing a little as an old memory came to his mind. “Are you trying to cut it or are you going to trick me and braid it like that one time when we were kids?”

“Hey! That was one time, and you rocked those braids!”

“Sure, if you say so,” Riku replied, trying not to laugh this time.

“Okay, if you keep that up, you are getting a braid instead of a ponytail,” Kairi said in a taunting tone. 

“Well I guess I have no choice but to cooperate. I doubt I would be able to escape you once you get a hold of a comb and scissors.” 

The two broke into another bit of laughter before Kairi actually started pulling hair to start cutting. She hummed a little tune quietly as she cut the hair and Riku stayed still and as quiet as he could. Though a moment later he couldn’t help but ask something. 

“You ever tried braiding Sora’s hair?”

“Of course I have! But you know how his hair is. It’s impossible to work with!” Kairi exclaimed.   
  
“I guess you are right there, his hair always had a way to defy gravity it seems, whether he brushed his hair in the morning or not.”

The two then went on to talk about and make jokes about how absurd Sora’s hair could be. Before long Kairi stepped back and brushed through Riku’s hair. He could already tell it felt shorter so he ran a hand through it to feel. It was now reaching just to his shoulders and a few seconds later Kairi pulled it back and Riku felt her put it into a high ponytail on his hair. 

“There, bangs and hair trimmed a bit, and a ponytail to top it off. I think you look great,” Kairi said. She bit her lip after her choice of words, knowing that he would never be able to truly see what she had done for him. 

Much to her surprise Riku didn’t say a word or even look fazed by it. Instead he ran his hand over his head, feeling the ponytail that was now holding his hair back. He smiled slowly. “Thanks, I bet it really does look nice. I’m sure you did a good job on it.”

“Good?” Kairi scoffed. “I think you mean amazing!”

“You are telling that to a blind kid, kind of hard for me to know for sure.” Much to both Riku and Kairi’s thoughts, he ended up laughing as he spoke. Despite the fact he was admitting he could not see, somehow he had managed to light the situation. 

“Well then! We will just have to find someone to give a second opinion, and we know just who to go to!” 

Kairi pulled Riku to his feet and they ran out of her house. At first he let her pull him along, but eventually he was running besides her. Though the things around him blurred slightly from running, he could still sense out the basic layout of everything. It was enough so that he could run and not have to worry too much about tripping or running into something. 

Soon they arrived at Sora’s house and knocked on the door. His mother was the one to answer, but she knew right away to call for Sora. He came running a second later and now stood in the doorway. “Hey guys! What’s up? Did you guys wanna… Whoa! Riku your hair!”

Riku went to place a hand on his ponytail again, making sure it was still there. “What about it?”

“You look awesome! Like you look so cool with it! I mean you were already cool before, but this is like a completely different level of cool,” Sora said, rambling cheerfully. 

“You really think it’s that good?” 

“Of course! It makes you look so tough or something. Like a samurai or a ninja maybe!”

Riku smiled happily, Sora’s outlooks on everything always did bring a smile to his face. “Thanks Sora. That means a lot.”

“Ahem,” Kairi cleared her voice. “You also got me to thank for this cool new Riku look.”

“Ooh yeah! You did a great job Kairi!”

The air around Riku started to feel much warmth and lighter than before. He knew one of the reasons was that he was standing next to his two best friends, who already were very strong light presences. Then there was also just the mood that was there, it was drastically different than the morning. This was something much happier. Something that truly could bring out the best of him; spending time with his friends and having a good time. 


	10. Chapter 10

Riku sat quietly in his room, reading over some of the new books his mother had bought him. It was still fairly hard for him to read braille, but he was making the best attempts he could. He had already come a long way since returning home and it was truly interesting to learn about anyways. Overall all of this new learning he knew he couldn't do alone. His friends still stood by his side to help him every step of the way and it made everything seem easier.

Suddenly there was a knock on his door and he turned towards it instinctively. He sensed that it was his mother on the door. "Yeah?"

"Sora's here to see you," his mother answered. "Would you like to come out to see him or would you like him to come to you?"

"I can come out," Riku replied.

Slowly he put the book down to the side and reached for something that leaned against his dresser. It was just a pain and simple plastic cane. He didn't actually need one for his blindness was not truly a natural type of blindness. With his sensing abilities it made it easy for him to know just about where everything was, only with a few exceptions.

But of course his mother didn't know that, and trying to explain that to her would be too much. He decided to just go along with what she told him and wanted for him. She was his mother after all and he didn't want to worry her, not anymore.

Using the cane, he tried his best to use it how he would if he wasn't able to sense where everything else was. It wasn't too hard at least, and actually seemed to help guide him a bit better than he expected. It was actually a good combination to have with his ability. When he made it to the front of the house, he sensed that Sora was sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hi Riku!" Sora's voice was cheerful as ever and Riku was sure that Sora was giving one of his usual smiles. It was easy to tell even if he could no longer see, though there still was that want to actually see that happy dorky smile again.

"Hey Sora," Riku said before reaching out for one of the chairs and taking a seat. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come to the island today with me and Kairi. We were thinking of having a little beach party and stuff like we used to. Maybe go swimming or something… and stuff…" There was the slightest hesitation at the end of Sora's sentence when he fished.

"Swimming?" Riku asked softly. He knew why Sora had hesitated slightly. None of them had really considered what it would be like for Riku to try and go swimming when blind. He already knew that his senses were muted when in the water, recalling when he had been plummeted into the water after leaving the Realm of Darkness with Sora. Or at least that was what he was believing. He had never gone swimming after that deep plunge, so he was never fully sure of it.

"A-Ah yeah… you know you don't have to do that part of it. I mean we don't had to do that at all. We would still have fun playing on the island in general."

Riku breathed out slowly. He didn't like taking away from the fun that his friends could be having, but he knew that Sora and Kairi wouldn't want to do something fun without him. Either way it left him in a hard spot for his choice. "Sora… it's okay. You know, I could try at least for some swimming. My senses have been getting stronger these past few days, maybe I just need some practice."

"You sure?"

"Sora, I know that I'll be fine as long as I am with you guys. You'll watch out for me, right?"

"Right!" Sora was beaming with positive energy again. It made the energy coming off of him for Riku to feel all the more lighter and happier.

* * *

Later that afternoon Riku was standing on the shores of the play island. His shoes were off and to the side, and he was now letting the waves wash up into his feet. He could feel the sand being pulled up along with the waves, cover some of his feet, and then mostly be dragged back down to the waters.

He stood there quietly, letting the soothing sensation flow over him. He could just stay here and listen to every sound he heard. Everything seemed so peaceful and relaxing and it just felt… wonderful.

" _My home world may be small… but the beautiful sounds it has… no other world has that. Nothing can replace this."_

"Hey, Riku, you ready?"

He turned to face the sound of Sora's voice. He was walking closer, with Kairi right by his side. Soon they were right up next to him, and he nodded. "Yeah… but let's take it slow."

"Of course," Kairi answered. She reached out to Riku, gently taking one of his hands and a moment later Sora did the same with Riku's other hand. "When you're ready we'll start, okay?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

The three of them started to move closer to the water, letting it reach up to their ankles now. Riku made no protest as they wadded further into the water. By the time Riku was up to his waist, he slowed himself down. He still could sense everything perfectly fine, but he had a sudden sense of fear run through him.

His grip on his friends' hands tightened as he took a step deeper into the water. Suddenly the two friends stopped and waited. "You okay, Riku?" Kairi was the one to ask him first.

"Yeah, let us know if anything is bothering you," Sora added.

"I'm fine… I'm still able to sense everything. Let's get out a bit deeper… just a bit further."

Kairi and Sora hummed in agreement as they took a few more steps. Now the water was just above this abdomen. Once they were there, Riku started to lower himself further into the water. He thought rather than going out further, he could just sit in the water or float on his back and see what would happen from there.

Once he got down deep enough he felt Kairi and Sora go from holding his hands to just having their hands hovering above his arms. He breathed in as he finally got to the point where he was floating on his back… and everything was perfectly fine.

Riku began to smile as he just floated there. He could tell the water was messing with his perception of where the ground was and other environments around, but he could still sense exactly where Kairi and Sora were.

"You good Riku?" Sora asked softly.

"Yeah, it's all good. I still can tell where you guys are. The rest of it, like where the island is to where I am… that's just a bit muddled in the water. But I think I am going to be all right."

"Whew that's good to hear. So you just wanna float around and stuff?" Sora then asked.

"Hmm…" Riku hummed before moving in the water to be standing up again. "I think something much more fun is needed."

Without waiting for a response, Riku splashed the water in the directions that Kairi and Sora stood. He heard them laugh and then right away he felt water splash up against him. It was a bit of a sudden shock, since he could not see the water coming at him directly. He almost could sense it, but he really just didn't have enough time to take in the full sensing of the water flying at it. But he didn't stop to let Sora and Kairi know. He didn't want to stop the fun that had just started. He would manage and still have fun and that was all that mattered to him.

The three of them splashed around for a while until they grew tired in their arms. After that they did take a break to just float and lightly tread around in the water. Small conversations started up from there about magic, with Sora wondering if he should work on learning water magic next. He knew blizzard magic well enough, but he had yet to actually try out just plain water magic.

"I think it would be really fun. Think of all the awesome waves you could splash people with!" Kairi exclaimed.

"Yeah, unless it is in a fight, then it is no fun at all!" Sora sighed heavily with exasperation while he recalled a certain water based fight.

"Was that fight really that bad?" Riku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Totally was! Like I didn't expect him to be any good at all and then out of nowhere he was able to nearly defeat me with all of his little water clones. It was crazy! You should have seen it!"

"But you still managed to pull through in the end at least," Kairi said, trying to be reassuring. "And it just goes to show how powerful water can be. I'd love to learn more about magic myself."

"You really should Kairi! You got a keyblade now so Riku and I could teach you! Right Riku?"

Riku nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure you would be great at it."

"Great! So when do you think you guys could teach me?" Kairi replied, giggling happily.

"Why not start right now? We still have daylight left," Sora said.

Riku started to stand up out of the water. "Sounds good, plus we needed to dry off soon anyways. Come on, let's head to shore and figure out what we can do."

Once the three were tried off and back on the shores of the play island, Riku breathing in deeply while thinking things over. He did want to help teach Kairi magic, but he wasn't entirely sure how well it was going to work out without his sight. "Okay, so I think the easiest part would be just summoning your keyblade."

"Right," Kairi replied.

Riku could now sense a light within Kairi's grasp. No doubt her keyblade. With that, Sora took his turn to help Kairi figure out a basic fire spell. In the end Riku saw that Sora was the better teacher as he knew a broader range of magic.

After a few tries Kairi did magic to create a small fire spell. Riku wasn't able to get a hold on sensing it before it vanished, but he did feel the slight bit of warmth before Kairi cast it out to sea. While Kairi shouted with joy, Riku decided to sit down on the sand, smiling hopefully in her direction for her to see.

"Riku, you okay?" Sora asked suddenly.

Riku nodded lightly. "Yeah, just tired. But don't let me discourage any excitement. I'm glad you figured it out Kairi."

"Thanks, Riku. But we don't need to celebrate so much. It was just a basic spell."

Soon Kairi and Sora were sitting right next to Riku. Sora started to hum softly. "Wow, it's a really nice sunset tonight."

There was a slight pause and then hesitation.

"A-Ah… Ah… Riku I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

Riku held up his hand and shook his head. "It's fine. I still remember what sunsets look like. It's nothing big." Riku tried to sound confident in his voice, but somehow he found it to be weak and soft.

He felt something on his cheek and when he touched his fingers to it, it was wet. Trying his best, he didn't want to let that shaky breath out. He didn't need to go through this again, but as soon as he felt the arms of Kairi and Sora wrap around him… he just let it out.

He hadn't even been feeling sad. It was all out of nowhere and completely unexpected. Not knowing what to make of it, he continued to sit there, crying softly. The comfort of his friends hugging him did make things far easier and he couldn't have been more glad for it. It was nice to be reminded once more that they really did care for him after everything. Still at the end of the day they were all friends.

When the tears dried up, and Riku could breath properly again, he leaned back into his friend's embrace. "Sora… Kairi… thank you. Thank you so much."

"Riku, you know we are always here to help," Kairi whispered softly. "You don't need to be afraid still to tell us these things."

"I wasn't afraid… but I guess I just wasn't expecting it," Riku answered as honestly as he could. "Still, I can't thank you guys enough. You two are the best friends I could ask for."

"Aw so sweet!" Kairi chirped as she leaned in to a deeper hug.

Sora just laughed and joined in to giving more of a hug to Riku. He wasn't able to support the weight for very long and soon all three of them were laying on the sand, laughing to no end. Just like before, Riku had found comfort in his friends and he knew he wouldn't have it any other way. As long as he had his friends by his side he knew he could get through just about anything.


	11. Chapter 11

The day had warm and pleasant and Riku was trying his best to soak up every moment of it. The breeze was light and gentle, but still was enough to keep him cool enough from the heat of the sun. Taking in a deep breath he tried his best to fall into a small meditation, carefully trying to be in sync as he could with the waves.

Eventually his calm thoughts were disrupted when he heard the sound of footsteps coming closer to where he was sitting. He smiled once he sensed that Sora was standing right next to him. "Hey Sora."

"Hey Riku," Sora greeted him as he moved to lean against the paopu tree, right next to Riku. "You still doing okay?"

"I'm fine," Riku answered honestly. It was the second time Sora had asked him how he was doing, with the first being when they first got to the island earlier that day. It was a nice thought to know that Sora was always looking out for him, just being his usual caring self.

"It's just rather peaceful today, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's almost like before. Everything feels pretty much the same."

"You think it's a bad thing?"

Riku shrugged. "I don't think so. It's nice to come back to this I guess. Nothing has changed here and it's soothing."

"Yeah, and I bet nothing will change it."

"Good, I wouldn't want it to change. Even if it's a small world, it's still special."

"It is, but we can't forget, it's a part of something so much bigger."

Nodded, Riku couldn't help but smile a bit. Their journeys really had broadened their minds to all of this and now they all had a new perspective. He no longer felt confined and lonely on his small island world, now knowing just how much was out there.

"Hey Riku, could I ask you something?"

Riku turned to face Sora, offering a smile. "Sure, what's up?"

"So what do you think it really was? You know, the door to the light?"

Riku thought for a moment before smiling. He reached out his hand slowly making sure he didn't bump into Sora too soon. Carefully his hand brushed up against Sora's chest and Riku then pointed, hoping he was close enough at least.

"Here?"

"Well I'm pointing to where your heart is right?" Riku asked lightly.

"Yeah, so you really mean that then?"

Riku nodded. "That's what I believe anyways. It's always closer than you think."

"Thanks Riku," Sora said cheerfully. Just by his tone alone, Riku knew that Sora was probably grinning widely as he always did. It still left a little pain though… wishing he could see that smile again. But there were still the memories in his mind. He could still remember every silly and goofy grin Sora ever gave. That was what made it easier… all those wonderful memories with his cherished friends.

Suddenly Kairi's voice was heard in the distance, but it was growing closer. "Sora! Riku!"

"Hey, what's up?" Sora asked once Kairi stood next to them.

"I found this," Kairi said as she breathed in deeply, trying to catch her breath.

Riku could tell she was holding something. It seemed like a familiar shape, but it was alluding his mind for the moment. He cleared his throat. "What is it?"

"O-Oh…" Kairi replied quickly. "Sorry... it's a bottle and there's a letter inside of it."

"And it has the King's seal!" Sora added on.

"Mickey sent us a letter?" Riku asked.

"Yeah, let's see what it says."

Sora began to read the letter and what it contained. Mickey was telling them of upcoming threats that would endanger the world. Something that they needed to help out in and do whatever they could to protect the light. But in order to do so they were going to need to go through the Mark of Mastery exam to make them true Keyblade Masters. In order to do that though, Mickey said that they would have to come to Yen Sid's tower for the rest.

"Wow… I guess we can't rest just yet," Sora commented, almost seeming excited by the fact.

"Yeah, guess so. But you think we're ready for something like this?"

"Of course we are!" Sora exclaimed. "I mean, you wanna go do this, right?"

Riku thought about it for a moment. Was he really ready to go out there again and use the keyblade? He could still sense things around him, but with how peaceful it had been he hadn't given it much thought. Could he really keep on fighting while blind? Would it eventually hinder him and make things more difficult? Was it even worth it to keep on wielding the keyblade at this point?

Sighing, Riku turned and faced away from his friends, letting his thoughts grow more and more. He could still summon the keyblade, that much was obvious. But he still remembered the last battle. The battle against Xemnas… where he slipped up so much.

"Riku?"

He felt Sora's hand on his arm. A light warmth flowed from the touch.

"Yeah Sora?"

"Are you feeling all right? You know about all of this?"

"I don't know Sora… I haven't used the keyblade since that last battle. Even that battle was hard for me because of my lack of sight."

"Yeah but Riku!" Sora exclaimed. "That was a while ago now. You are like a super ninja level now with how you can sense things. So I bet you would be even better with the keyblade if you tried."

Riku snorted at the rather childish comparison. It did honestly bring up his mood to know that Sora still believed in him so much. He then felt another warm touch on his other arm… Kairi. "Sora's right. You've been improving a lot. I am sure you can still fight with a keyblade."

Riku found himself to be smiling now. "Right. Thanks guys, I guess I just needed the reminder."

""You're welcome Riku! Just never forget that you're not alone. You still have us."

"I know, I just let myself slip up a little," Riku said before he cleared his throat. "Anyways, so we should probably prepare then right? Did Mickey say if we would get picked up at any point?"

"Yeah, we got just a couple days before. So let's get ready! And hey! Kairi you can come too! I bet it would really help since you are just starting to learn how to use the keyblade."

"You sure?" Kairi asked. "I'm not as good as you two are, I wouldn't want to get in the way."

Riku finally turned a bit, facing Kairi. He offered a smile that he hoped was in her direction. "Doesn't mean you shouldn't learn. I am sure that Mickey or Yen Sid would know how you can help out."

"Yeah! We gotta do this together!" Sora interjected.

Kairi giggled lightly. "All right, if you say so. We'll do this together. Someone has to watch out for the two of you anyways."

Riku laughed along with Sora. He felt happier that he still had his friends by his side and that they never gave up on him, but he was still left to wonder what was to come. Just what they were going to have to go through, would he really be able to manage it? He had spent all this time adjusting to being blind, but now a brand new challenge was coming and he wasn't too sure what it held. He could only do what he knew was best, and that was to keep on trying and believing in his friends, just as they believed in him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally caught up on the crosspost stuff. But either way thank you for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

Riku could feel the cool air brushing against his skin. It wasn't that there was a breeze, there was actually a lack of such a thing. But the air just was so much cooler than it was back on the islands. Perhaps this also was because Yen Sid's tower was just a small piece of land floating within space itself.

Though Riku wasn't really able to see what any of it looked like anyways. But from what Sora told him, it was a fairly small piece of land with just gardens and the oddly shaped tower. How odd it was exactly Riku wouldn't be able to know, he only had to trust Sora's judgement that it was just really really wonky looking.

Speaking of Sora he could feel him standing to his right with Kairi on his left. They stood there with him, waiting as he let his senses take in the surroundings as best as he could. Eventually he felt Sora gently place a hand on his arm.

"You ready?"

Riku nodded. "Yeah, lead the way."

The three moved forward and Riku was careful as he walked up the stairs. It was a new environment for him and while he could sense the land and objects around him, he still felt he needed to be cautious. The staircase leading up to Yen Sid's tower was much longer than Riku would have expected, but Riku and Kairi stayed by his side the entire time, not that there was anything to worry about.

When they made their way to the top of the stairs, beyond the door Riku could sense four others standing there. He could tell that they were Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Yen Sid himself. Now that they were all assembled there, Yen Sid began his explanation about the Keyblade War and Kingdom Hearts. He talked of the light and darkness that made up the x-blade and how the keyblades came from inspiration of it.

All of them were carefully listening as Yen Sid went on to tell about Xehanort and how he would be coming back to clash against the light once more. "We must be ready. Which is why you, Sora and Riku, are to be tested for the mark of a true Keyblade Master. No doubt you fancy yourselves masters already, but it takes years of training. Only a true master can teach you the proper way. But both of you are self-taught Keyblade wielders… an impressive feat. However, the time has come for you to let go of preconceived notions, forget what you know about the keyblade, and begin your training again with a clean slate."

"But that's a formality, right? I already proved myself. Me, and the King, and Riku, we can take on anything. Kairi too, Right, Riku?"

Riku figured that Sora was no doubt looking at him as he could sense that Sora's body had turned. With a heavy sigh, Riku tilted his head down. "I'm not sure… I think that in my heart…" he summoned his soul eater sword instead of his keyblade. "Darkness still has a hold… Walking that path changed me. I'm not sure if I'm ready to wield the keyblade again. And with my blindness… it only has made my heart waver even more if I am worthy of it. Maybe I do need to be tested."

"Riku…" Sora replied softly. With a sharp breath and started to speak again. "Then count me in. Put me through the test! Just watch-me and Riku will pass with flying colors! But still what about Kairi? She has a keyblade too."

"While I understand Kairi has come to wield the keyblade," Yen Sid started to say. "This test is still far from easy. Even if the two of you are starting with a clean slate, this is a challenge meant to test if you can prove to be true Keyblade Masters. But that is not to say that she cannot have any training at all. I will send her to Merlin, there she could train with him and gain more experience in a proper controlled environment."

"But-" Sora started to say.

"It's okay, Sora." Kairi said, quick to stop him. "As long as I learn more about the keyblade I'll be fine. I'll catch up in no time, okay?"

"Yeah okay. I know you can do it though!" Sora added.

"If that is all settled, Sora Riku… let your examination begin…"

From there Yen Sid went into more detail just what it was that Riku and Sora would be doing. Though Riku did his best to follow, he couldn't help but let the doubt fill inside of him. He was going to go through a test to see if he was worthy of being a Keyblade Master… he had no idea yet what the test was.

Thankfully Yen Sid was quick to talk about it, explaining that there were seven sleeping keyholes that had to be found and unlocked. It already sounded to be much harder than anything else from what Riku heard, which only added to his worry. Could he really do all of his while blinded? Was something like that even possible? He figured Yen Sid must have believed so otherwise he would have said something at this point.

" _Maybe I am just overthinking it… maybe I will be able to manage this. I have to…"_

He drew his attention back to focus when Yen Sid started to talk about the creatures that they would encounter in the sleeping realm. He heard a sound of some kind of magic, but he wasn't too sure just what it was. The only thing he could assume was that Yen Sid was showing just what these Dream Eaters looked like, but of course he could not see them. He had no idea just what it would be that he was looking for, or how he would tell the difference between a Nightmare and Spirit. He only could guess that he would be able to sense the darkness in the Nightmares just like he sensed anything else while in the waking world.

" _You can do this,"_ Riku reminded himself. " _You can't give up yet. After all… you've come this far."_

Next Yen Sid said how he would send him and Sora back to the Destiny Islands just before they fell to darkness. From there they would have to guide themselves to the sleeping worlds to start their journey. That was all there was to it… now it was just the part of starting all of this.

Just as they were preparing Kairi walked close to him. "Hey Riku? You going to be okay? You looked a little nervous."

"Yeah… I think so. Just have a lot on my mind about all of this."

"You'll be fine," Kairi said reassuringly. "You'll be with Sora after all."

"That's right!" Sora said. "We'll have each other's backs won't we?"

Riku started smiling again, feeling a warmth in his chest. He was glad he could still count on his friends to always be there for him. But at the same time he still didn't want them to have to always be there for him to guide him. Part of his journey was not only learning to rely on others when he needed it, but also learning not to feel like a burden because of his blindness. He had come far, but now there would be something new to overcome again. But he knew his friends were right, he would be able to make it through. He believed in them and therefore he knew he had to believe in himself.

"You're right," Riku answered. "Let's get ready."

"Right!" Sora said.

"I'll see you guys later then. Good luck!" Kairi said to the boys. "And just wait till you get back. I bet I'll be right up there with you to be a keyblade master."

"Aw yeah! You'll be great Kairi!"

"Yeah, we know you can do it," Riku added as he smiled.

"Alright!" Sora cheered. "Let's get to this!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honestly I have been struggling to think through this story a bit. Mainly thinking how I shall go over the DDD stuff. I don't feel I need to go through all of it, but I still wanna detail somethings, but there are just some technical parts with Riku being blind and all I need to think over. 
> 
> But I shall still do what I can on this. So thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

Riku wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to expect. Yen Sid may have explained a lot about the sleeping worlds, but he still wasn't too sure what would happen when they got there. But with it being the Realm of Sleep, he and Sora had to do just that; sleep. He knew he had been asleep but now he could tell that he was waking up. His mind was telling him to open his eyes and he did, but right away he shut them tightly.

Something wasn't right. Something didn't _feel_ right. His eyes shouldn't have reacted the way they did when he opened them. There should have been nothing like there always had been, yet for some reason his eyes were trying to adjust to the fact there was _light_ in the area.

Slowly he opened his eyes again and light filled his eyes, overwhelming him momentarily. " _How can this be? What… how am I able to see_?" Riku questioned himself as he tried to figure out what to do.

He breathed in carefully, trying to lower his rapidly beating heart. The last thing he needed to do was panic during this important exam. " _Maybe it's because this is the Realm of Sleep. These are worlds that are in sleep, so maybe it's like being awake in a dream. That's gotta be it."_

Even when he had come to his conclusion, his breath was still shaky. Everything in his mind was screaming and it was hard to calm down those inner thoughts. He could see now that he was in the Realm of Sleep. Once more he was able to truly see what was around him and he didn't have to solely rely on his other senses. It was going to throw off everything he had been focusing and training on the past few months, yet it was still something of familiarity.

" _Come on,"_ Riku thought. " _You can't let this set you back. It's all a part of the test. Yeah. Sora's probably waiting for me anyways."_

Opening his eyes again, he let the surrounding light fill his vision and after a bit of blinking everything started to come into focus. It took him a few moments but now with his sight back really had to think just where he was.

"Traverse Town…" he muttered softly. He took in the sight as best as he could, not knowing if it would vanish in the next moment or not. The next thing he noticed or thought to look at was himself.

He brushed back the hair that fell over his eyes. He hummed thoughtfully, almost distracted by the fact he could actually see it again. "Maybe I should have asked Kairi to trim the bangs. Hopefully they won't get in the way."

After seeing that his clothes had changed, the second thing he noticed that Sora was not with him. He started to move around, still slowly and cautiously. Every step he took was followed by a quick look around him in all directions. It was still so strange to think he was once use to just walking and seeing and then he wasn't, and now seeing again he felt nervous that something would happen if he didn't look carefully enough.

As he moved around the area, he tried to remember what led him to this point. He remembered that he was on Destiny Islands with Sora, and he knew he couldn't see at that point. Then unexpectedly Ursula had shown up to attack them followed by the fuzzy thought of opening a keyhole.

He reflected over the situation again and again, adding in the fact he could see now. He knew it all meant that the exam had to have started, and he was lucky enough to be granted his sight back during it. But he knew deep inside he was having rather doubtful thoughts. He knew he could see in his dreams and now in the Realm of Sleep, but what did that mean for him after the fact? That… That was what he couldn't figure out, or really what he didn't want to know. But he couldn't deal with it for now because the exam was much more important. But the thoughts stayed in the back, lingering and crawling around in his mind.

* * *

Honestly it was a bit of a struggle some of the time for Riku. He couldn't fully explain it, but sometimes his vision wasn't actually perfect. There were times when it became blurry or almost dark to the point he feared he would be back to being blind once more. But there was no way of telling what the reason was though. He couldn't be sure if it was all because of it being the Realm of Sleep, or if it was something else.

But what was more concerning was that he had yet to find Sora. He had searched all over but there was no sign of him. But he had a hint at least from what a guy known as Joshua had said. There could be two of a port and Sora was in the other version of Traverse Town.

He still found himself to be a little distrusting of Joshua, but he had to go on what he could. Not only did he have to find Sora, but he also had to take care of the Nightmare Dream Eaters that were showing up.

After a little while though of interacting with others he met along his way, he suddenly was hit with a wave of sleepiness. His vision became hazy again and he couldn't stop himself from falling into a deep soundless sleep.

The next time he woke up he saw that he was alone again, but his vision was back. He was still in Traverse Town, but he couldn't understand why he had suddenly passed out. Though soon enough he had run into someone else that was trying to stay safe from Nightmares.

After he defeated the Dream Eaters the girl looked at him and smiled. "Seriously, thanks. I'm Shiki, how 'bout you?"

"Riku."

"Thanks, Riku," Shiki replied.

Riku nodded slightly. "Sure."

After that he was just ready to walk away, back to his mission, but he heard Shiki speak up from behind him. "Hey! That's it? You chat up a girl and then just say, 'Sure,' and walk off?"

He sighed quietly to himself. "I'm bad at this. Sorry. Look, it's not safe here. You should go home."

"If it's dangerous, how can you just leave me here? Aren't you my knight in shining armor?" Shiki asked, chuckled lightly, adding a wink after she spoke. "Well?"

Riku staggered back slightly, nervousness rising in his body. "Kn-knight? You've got the wrong idea."

"Omigosh, I was so just kidding. You get out much?"

Riku crossed his arms, sighing quietly. He had nothing to say nor did he really want to say anything to that.

"You remind me of this guy I know. Well, good thing we met."

"Yeah, great."

"You're a pretty interesting looking, some rather unique eyes there," Shiki stated rather bluntly.

"Wait what?" Riku asked, a little alarmed by her statement.

"I mean like they are mostly covered by your hair, but the color is really cool. Like a bluish grey color," Shiku replied as she tried leaning in to get a better look.

" _It must be because of what happened… even in a dream world my eyes aren't perfect,"_ Riku thought to himself.

After that Shiki talked to him a bit more, asking what he was doing, but then she soon headed on ahead of him and he knew that he couldn't just leave her to be alone at this point. Sighing to himself he ran after her, realizing this entire exam could be a whole lot harder than he expected, even with his sight back.

What made it harder was when the cloaked person showed up, spouting only confusing things without proper answers. He was honestly glad for his sight because he could now stare directly at the figure. He knew though he could have sensed the darkness right away, as it aws strong, but the sight of the cloak made everything much easier to confirm.

"This wakeless sleep will be your prison...to wander forever," the cloaked figure said to Riku, still being vague.

"What do you mean?"

"Riku, don'chu listen to that punk!" Beat, a boy who Riku met recently said as he came closer.

"Shiki's gonna be fine! She told me whassup. Hoodie here set this whole thing up, yo. He promised to send Shiki back to our world, and you was the cost of travel. Yo, this is seriously one half-baked excuse for a mission. Betchu ain't even a Reaper."

The figure finally took off their hood, revealing their very light silver hair and golden eyes. Riku tensed up, but tried his best to remain calm as he took in the sight of the man. "All right. Who are you?"

The young man raised one arm, not giving an answer. He summoned a large Dream Eater Nightmare and left a moment after. Riku gritted his teeth, knowing he had missed his chance to get the jump on him early.

After that he headed to where the Nightmare Dream Eater had headed, knowing he couldn't let it roam for too long. It didn't take all that long to defeat it, once against the sight being a big help to the fight. He breathed easily once the Dream Eater was gone, but now there was something else in his vision. He could see an image of Sora nad two others near here.

Riku stepped closer to Sora, afraid that his eyes could have been playing tricks on him. With the spotty vision and times he fell asleep he wasn't too sure what he could and couldn't trust anymore. "What are we… seeing?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally trying to get back to this again. Thought it would be fun to play a bit in DDD but I won't be going super detailed on it. Hope you all enjoyed!!


End file.
